The More Things Change
by XyKPfan
Summary: Ash and May face new challenges as they grow deeper in love. New living conditions, a trip the country-side, unexplained hidden secrets and so much more. Plus, they have to go back to school! Advanceshipping. Still in the Pokeuniverse.
1. Chapter 1

Caroline took a sip of her ice tea as she read a magazine. Summer eased away from Hoenn as the days grew gradually cooler. Just about the time the weathermen commented on the unusually humid heat that year, Mother Nature decided to make up for it with fall rain. The gray, damp, dreary weather was enough to get even the brightest spirits down after a while.

She smiled when she heard the latch on the front door. She saw May minimizing one of her pokéballs and putting it on her belt. Seeing the pokéball in her hand took her back to when May was ten, just starting her journey as a pokémon trainer. Caroline chuckled lightly as she thought of how, back then, everyone including herself, expected her to follow in her father's footsteps and become the Petalburg City Gym Leader.

Now, here she was again. Nineteen, on the verge of womanhood, with the man who would very likely be with her forever. She was no longer a little girl.

Caroline understood all too well how her husband felt about letting go of their "little princess."

"Big day with Ash planned?" She asked, trying to keep the touch of sadness out of her voice.

"Yeah. We're gonna go to Mauville Park. I just finished giving Blaziken and Munchlax their training since they prefer not to train in the gym. You think I should train Glaceon too?"

"I don't know. Glaceon's been doing a lot of resting lately. Especially since her two humans are spending so much time together."

May glanced back at her mother as she went to the fridge and took out a bottle of water.

"Well, we are engaged Mom. You can't possibly be surprised that we're celebrating."

"You can celebrate, honey. I'm just a little suspicious as to how you've been spending most of your nights."

"In this house, Mom? Really?"

"Well, you never know. Sometimes things happen. Ever since he started living here you two have been inseparable."

"We've always been inseparable, Mom. Just took us a few years to realize why."

May began stroking her chin.

"You think I should wear my cream colored dress when Ash picks me up?"

"What's wrong with what you have on?"

"Mom, I can't go in this! It's all sweating and nasty. Plus, this is for training and traveling purposes only."

"If you're just going for a walk in the park, why do you need to put on a dress?"

"Because he's taking me out tonight too. Ash is taking me to this really fancy restaurant. I mean, this really, really nice place tonight. I mean, it's so nice, he had to call in a favor to get reservations and all. That's why we're doing our dress-up dates on Friday instead of Saturday."

Caroline smiled knowingly at her child.

"Are you sure that's not the only reason the two of you are dressing up?"

May smiled a little and shrugged.

"Maybe tonight's just our little private little get-together."

"Oh, I'm sure of it. I'm willing you're gonna give him a real birthday present as well. Especially since the last two Saturday nights have been taken up with birthday dinners, and since last week it was just Ash and his Mom?"

"Mom, you're not going to get all weirded out like you did at my birthday, are you?"

They had a nice, long talk about that after the rest of the family got back from breakfast at _Ihop_ the next day. May and Ash were left sleeping in since she had a habit of sleeping late when she was with him. The whole conversation was a little test of wills, with both women dancing around admitting what they knew, then having a good laugh about how clueless May's Dad was about the whole affair.

"You should wear the black dress."

"Really? I mean…you don't think we're rushing things?"

"Honey, if I know one thing, it's that you two are meant for each. Did you see the way he looked at you the other day when you two came back from your date?"

May smiled warmly, wrapping her arms around herself as she reminisced about the previous evening.

"Yeah."

"He really does love you, May."

"And I love him. This rock on my finger says so," she said as flashed her finger to her mother, "That's why in a few months I'm gonna be Mrs. Ash Ketchum. When I walk down that aisle, it's gonna be at a church of our choosing. I'm gonna be wearing a white dress…"

"White?"

"MOM! There's no reason whatsoever why I can't wear white!"

"Even after he came back from Valencia Island?"

"Ach! I swear, everyone around us seems to have a one-track mind about what Ash and me are doing," May set the bottle down on the counter, "Besides, in the modern world a white wedding dress just means it's a first marriage."

"Don't' let you Nana or Aunt Mary hear you say that. Or your father for that matter," she warned.

May stuck her nose up in the air slightly.

"Well, like I said, there's no reason I can't wear a white dress, by any definition. Anyway, we've already talked about this in general terms. When we feel that we're ready to take things to the next level then we'll deal with it when the time comes."

"Speaking of which, have you set a date for the wedding yet?"

May sighed as she made her way upstairs to her room. Her mother followed her.

"No, Mom. We haven't set a date yet."

"Well, have you at least talked about it?"

May took off her pack and threw it on the bed before she zipped down her vest and pulled it off over her shoulders.

"We're kinda celebrating at the moment, Mom."

"It's okay to celebrate, May. I'm just saying it may be a good time to start thinking about setting a date. I mean, there's your dress to consider, caterers, flowers, invitations…"

"Mom, we have plenty of time to do all of that." she glanced back at her mother as she rooted through her underwear drawer.

Caroline pointed at the little bit of cotton in May's hand.

"Don't tell me you're going to wear that tonight?"

She looked at the cotton bikini brief in her hand. It was pink and trimmed in lace, with a large red heart printed on it.

"Too much?"

Caroline grinned evilly at her daughter.

"More like not enough. Hasn't your friend Misty taught you anything?"

May favored her mother with a strange look, then blushed slightly.

"I…uh…kinda left them at his house."

"I see."

Caroline's expression softened a bit as she sat on the edge of the bed, watching her intently.

May pulled the dress out of her closet, looked it over a bit, then hung it over her door.

"You think we're doing the right thing getting married so soon? I mean, I'm only nineteen. And then there's the thing with us traveling all the time because of our careers, you know, after we get enough passes to get us in the big leagues. That's gonna be tough enough without marriage."

"It's not so bad, dear. I was still in med school when your father and I got married, you know that. Now, it's not like I'm saying you should get married this young, but just think about what your reasons are."

Caroline frowned.

"Are you certain this isn't because Ash and you wouldn't be available for anybody else to snatch up?"

May turned to her mother with deep shock evident on her face.

"No way! I'm with Ash for the long haul, for good! It's just…if we're married that means having to deal with a home and having to hold down a job all while doing some of the hardest kind of work we've ever done. Throw in the chance that, despite our best efforts, I end up pregnant. I know you were in med school when I was born, I know you had to do your residency with a small child. I just want to get through my coordinating duties first, then Ash and I can settle down and, you know, start a family."

Caroline got up and gave her daughter a fierce hug.

"Then I think the two of you are doing exactly the right thing, May."

Just as she was starting to get feeling back in her arms, May took off her biker shorts and pulled the dress over her head.

"I just hope Ash feels the same way."

Caroline's lower lip curved downward as she looked over her daughter.

"Did you go up a cup size?"

"MOM!" May said as she covered herself with her arms.

"Well, I'm sorry. It's just, I don't remember you being so…buxom."

"MOM!"

"I'm only being honest with you, dear. It's really nothing you should be ashamed of."

May clasped her hands over her face.

"I'm only asking a question, May. Honestly, did you go up a size?"

"I…I don't know. Maybe a half? I don't pay much attention to those things, Mom."

"Oh, I'm sure you do. You have to. It's your body. You know it better than anyone."

"Mom, can we please not have this conversation," May said as her face began to turn beet red.

Caroline smiled widely.

"Alright May. I'll go tell your father that you're going out," she said as she walked up to the door. She looked down at her watch, "That's strange, Ash should have been here by now."

"He's probably having a hard time getting away from his Mom. When I was there the other day, she was extra-huggy. She's been that way for a while."

"You two will be right back if the baby comes early, won't you?"

"Baby? What baby? What you talking a…MOM!"

Caroline's grin couldn't possibly get any wider.

* * *

The sun was high as it set into the crystal clear blue sky and the temperature didn't seem to be rising very much. But even with the spotless cerulean sky, a distinct darkness to the west promised rain. Dinner went off as planned. They arrived at the restaurant at precisely the time indicated by they're reservations. This was the same restaurant where Ash had taken May on the night his car broke down and Harley had to give him a lift to May's house. The same night the lights had winked out. The same night Team Rocket decided to show up and momentarily steal Pikachu. And the same night where the sprinklers blasted him and May in the face when he proposed to her in the park. But this time, when he went to the restaurant, there weren't any severe weather conditions, so the place didn't black out and they could eat their meal.

"Five burgers, a plate of spaghetti, and a huge helping of chocolate mousse…and you're still hungry?" May shook her head as she as Ash continued their walk.

"What can I say? The Ash-man's gotta eat. And don't give me that look. You can get pretty carnivorous yourself."

"Who me?" she said quite innocently.

"Yes, you. I'm not the only one who was hungry. I seem to recall there being _two_ grumbling tummies when I picked you up for our date."

"Hey, I didn't eat lunch, buster. I've been training all day. Speaking of which, how was your day with your mom?"

Ash cringed.

"It was…okay. I mean, she's been kind of smothering me lately."

"Probably because she realizes her only son is engaged."

"Or because her only son moved out to live in his fiancée's house?" he said with a sigh.

Ever since he came back from his trip from Valencia Island, he had been living with May and her parents. There never really was any discussion about them 'officially' living together, it had just happened. The fact he had never moved more than the clothes he actually needed, or any of his furniture into their room really didn't change anything. In that moment, he realized that it was actually true. For all intents and purposes, they were living together full time.

"Do you think maybe we should, I dunno, stop living together? Wow, that sounds kind of strange saying it out loud. I never really thought of it like that. Living together. Wow." He repeated.

May paused.

"Why do you ask?"

"I dunno…It's just…I guess it just kinda hit me that we're actually living together."

"Did my parents say anything?"

"Well…" Ash began rubbing the back of his neck, "You're dad kinda wants me to make regular trips to the gym. Said something about sparring matches."

"That's not too bad. I used to spar with him all the time."

"You what?" He said, shock evident on his face.

"Yeah. Dad didn't want me to be some stupid damsel in distress when I left the house. Even with my pokemon, he wanted his little girl to hold her own. Every week, 2 times a day, three days a week, I go to the gym and have a sparring match with one of his pokemon."

"That's…interesting…" he said, unsure of what else to say.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. I just didn't know you were like that. I mean, I guess I should have expected this what with all the times you blew up at somebody who messed with your food."

"Hey, you'd be angry too if you made reservations at an expensive restaurant only to find out that all of the food was gone."

"I was too weak and hungry to be angry, May. I just wanted to eat," he said, recalling when his fiancée came to Sinnoh and sent Team Rocket airborne nearly five years ago.

"But, back to what I was saying, May. I think maybe your dad doesn't want me living with you guys anymore. I mean, I'm beginning to feel like I'm being kicked out. Did we make too much noise last night?"

"No more so than we have the last couple months."

"You think maybe he thinks we're…you know? Having sex?"

May shrugged her shoulders.

"He might. Mom thought we were and I'm pretty sure all our friends do too."

"I thought he was happy you were still living here." Ash muttered, putting his hands in his pockets.

May put her hand to his chin and caressed his face.

"I don't think that's what's got him like this. I think it finally sank in that you're living here with me. I mean, did Daddy say anything to you that maybe made you feel that way? I know, sometimes he can be pretty clueless."

"No, not really. I do remember him asking me to start looking for my own place to live."

"Those were his exact words?" May was almost driven to tears.

"I think so. He just slipped it in right after we made out a little longer last night…when you were in the shower."

"He told you when I was in the shower?"

"Yeah. I guess he wanted to talk to me alone. Then he just started asking me to come to the gym for some matches. I thought he was talking about battles, you know like pokemon battles, but he was talking about one-on-one matches, like me versus him. Fighting with our hands, not our pokemon."

"Maybe he just wants you to exercise more."

"May, come on. Your dad does not want me to exercise."

"Well, you don't know. I mean, you really aren't in the best shape, Ash. Remember when we switched brains? Lord, I felt like I was dragging a Hippowdon across my across chest."

"Uh-Huh and I was twenty-five pounds lighter and five hundred times better looking. Not to mention the fact that I now have I knew favorite color," he said as he wagged his eyebrows.

"I'm still upset that you were eyeballing my body like that."

"I was in unfamiliar territory, I was curious, you had that big dressing mirror in your room, I'm not gonna explain myself anymore," Ash said defensively.

"It's okay. I got you back when I got you caught in your zipper just before Bill switched us back."

"You said that was an accident!"

"Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn't. You'll never know," May grinned evilly at him. Ash lightly stroked the groove in the small of her back.

"So, what are we gonna do now beautiful?"

She crossed her arms, putting her chin down on them. Part of her was trying to enjoy his touch, but for the most part her mind was awhirl.

"If you really think Daddy wants you out then I guess we need to go apartment shopping. Honestly, Ash, I've got no idea how to go about it. I've lived in my room my whole life, except for when I was traveling."

"Apartment shopping?"

"Aren't you the one who said you didn't know if you should be living in my parents' house anymore? There's no way I'm living there without you, Ash. We're engaged remember? If you left and I stayed, it'd seem too much like we're breaking up."

"Yeah, I know. But an apartment?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"I was just thinking we could stay at my mother's house. I don't think she would mind. She loves you."

"Ash, I'm not gonna go all the way to Kanto to live with your mother."

"Then you should stay. I'd love you whether we're living together or not. You said you've always lived in that room. It seems a shame to screw that up just because we're, like your Dad says, 'living in sin.'"

That brought a smile to her face.

"He does not say that."

"Yeah, he does. He keeps asking me when I'm going to make an honest woman of you."

"That's not the same thing, and I don't think he's said that once since you…well…moved in. You're right, though. It doesn't seem fair. Now if he wanted you to chip in and help with the mortgage, or the food, I could see that."

Ash stopped. He wrapped his hands around his fiancée's waist.

"I think I can do that." He began playing with her hair, "You know I really wanna hit the beach this year. I wanna show my awesome fiancée off to the world."

May cocked an eyebrow.

"Why? If you want to see hot girls in bathing suits Mom and I could dig out the bikinis we wore last summer."

Ash looked her up and down without moving his head.

"Uh, May, that's half awesome, half wrong on so many levels." He straightened up quickly as anger flashed in her eyes, "I'm not saying you Mom doesn't look…good in a 'kini, it's just I don't want to think of her that way. Like ever."

The scowl didn't quickly fade from May's face.

"So, you want to go to the beach to ogle girls you don't know?" She arched her back slightly to enhance her chest.

"What's the matter? Not enough variety here for you?"

He shook his head.

"I'm just going to shut up now, before I lose the right to even see those on occasion."

"Too late."

* * *

Breakfast that first morning of their new arrangement wasn't as uncomfortable as they thought it would be. Ash was thankful May insisted on the pajamas when her mother shook him awake by the shoulder to call them down to breakfast. He was also thankful the covers were up since the bottoms of said night clothes were stuffed down at the foot of the bed. Only an hour earlier May had awakened him for a little wake-up call of her own.

With the exception of a confused look Max had on when he witnessed the two climbing down the black iron staircase together, nobody acted as if anything were out of the ordinary. Ash had spent the night enough that his appearance at the breakfast table was nothing special, even though before it had always been after a night on the couch or later in the guest room.

"You kids still planning on going to the mountains for the weekend?" Norman asked from behind his fresh copy of the _The Examiner._

Such an…ordinary…response wasn't what either of them had been expecting. They were ready for anything, from the silent treatment to having their ears bent for their brazen decision.

"We were gonna head up to Mt. Chimney tomorrow afternoon," May said as she dug into her pancakes, all the while running her bare foot up and down Ash's shin.

Her father let the upper half of his paper tip down.

"Says here it's supposed to rain all weekend, with the possibility of ice. Doesn't sound like a very good weekend of skiing."

Caroline set a plate of pancakes down in front of her husband.

"I don't think that's what they had in mind for their trip, dear." She smiled at her daughter, who blushed crimson.

"Actually, that was the plan. I love having the chance to ski when there's no tenacious maniacs chasing me down the mountain trying to nab my pokemon," Ash said with a mouth full of food.

"Or nosey chaperones making sure it's one to a bed." Caroline said, sitting down with her own plate.

"Mom!" May turned even brighter red.

"Well, if the weather turns nasty, I'd just as soon the two of you stayed right here." Norman said from behind his paper.

Both their mouths hung open for a moment.

"The two of us?" May asked dubiously.

"I want what's best for my kids, and that includes my future son-in-law." He put the paper down and started buttering his pancakes.

"Go easy, Norman. We don't want your cholesterol getting out of control." Caroline warned.

"Between the butter and the bacon, if my cholesterol was going to get out of whack, it would have done so a long time ago." He said, ignoring her and putting three pats of butter on each pancake before reassembling the stack and pouring syrup on them.

May and Ash just looked at each other. Then she glanced at her Mom, who smiled back at her. A bit of understanding crossed her mind. Caroline Maple had always been on her side when it came to Ash and their attempts to be together were part and parcel of that.

"Well…as long as we're all talking about what's best for us, Ash and I got to talking last night when we were on our date and we realized something," May said as she grasped his hand. She could see the nervousness in his eyes at what she was about to tell her parents.

"Ash and I feel that it's time for us to make a change. We think we're old enough to make our own decisions without them having to be vetoed by anybody else. I know your bills have been off the wall since Ash moved in and we want you to know that we will no longer be a bother to you. We figured something that'll solve all you financial needs."

"What's that dear?" Caroline asked as she lightly buttered her toast.

"We're moving out."

* * *

Caroline Maple stared at her husband as he cowered behind his desk. Stared wasn't quite the word for it. She was giving him "The Glare."

"Do you think it might have been wise to actually ask me before you decided it was time to kick my daughter out of the house?"

"I did no such thing. I only suggested that maybe it was time for them to start actually looking for their own place." He drummed his fingers on his desk, looking from side to side. He knew he was in trouble when she glared at him at the breakfast table that morning. He knew he was in even more trouble when she showed up at the Gym looking for him. She almost never went there. That was his world, as much as the house and Center was hers and for the most part the two never mixed.

"Oh? That's not what May and Ash said at breakfast. Your daughter was nearly brought to tears when she said you were going to kick Ash out. Norman, you know he's working on a place for them when they get married. What's wrong with that?"

"That's not what I meant, dear, and that's more than a year off. I just thought they would be more comfortable living in their own place."

"Oh really? Well, _dear_, did you stop you think how Ash might feel knowing his soon to be father-in-law is kicking him out? Did you stop to think about how May might feel knowing her own father his kicking her fiancé out and that she'd have to move out and leave her own room? The same room she's lived in her whole life?"

"Caroline, I never thought that would mean having a boyfriend come to live with her."

Blue eyes suddenly lit on fire. "Ash…is…not…just…a…boyfriend, Norman. He is your son-in-law! Or at least he's going to be in a year or so! Maybe you haven't noticed, but he is the single best thing that has happened to May in her life outside of this family. So what if they're living together in our house? He was welcomed to live here before."

"But what kind of example is that setting for Max? He's going to be here a couple weeks before he starts his next journey. He worships the ground Ash walks on and if they're upstairs…doing their thing…"

"That's not the same thing, Norman, and you know it. If Max had somebody in his life like Ash I don't think you would have worried for an instant. I think May and Ash set a fine example for him. Plus, I'm sure he's fully aware that he is sixteen and that May and Ash are nineteen and twenty one. That's a big difference from their perspective."

He sighed. Just as he thought that morning, there was no turning back from this point. The damage had been done, and that probably meant he was going to be the one sleeping either on the couch or in the guest room that night.

"Okay, Caroline. I'll talk to her."

"You need to talk to them both. If you had said no after the first time, this would have been different, yet you waited six months to say something. I think it's too late to stand on morals, if that's the reason behind all of this."

With that, she turned on her heels.

"I think it might be a good idea if you took the two of them out to dinner."

"I'll fix something. I'm not totally helpless in the kitchen, plus I've been hankering to try out my new grill."

Caroline shook her head.

"I said you should talk to them. Not poison them." She held up her hands, then dropped them in frustration before walking out the door, muttering about idiot gym leaders.


	2. Chapter 2

"May, perhaps we're going about this the wrong way." Ash pulled their car into a space at the third apartment complex they visited that day. Normally, May would be the one to drive, even though they had come to the understanding that since it was the only vehicle between them, it really belonged to both of them. Still, the car had been a gift from her parents for winning the Johto Grand Festival and she preferred driving herself. Ash tended to make her just slightly nervous.

"I'm kinda casting around in the dark here, Ash. I called the housing office earlier and they said we qualified for a room, but they wouldn't allow us to live together in one unless we were legally married."

He leaned on the steering wheel while she wrapped up the lists she was currently looking at. So far they had seen two apartments. The first was only a couple blocks from May's parents' home, but they had both nearly bolted when they saw it. It did meet one some of their expectations, the first that it was within walking distance of Norman and Caroline's house and they were willing to lease the place for just one year, but the inside left much to be desired. There was actually less floor space in the entire place than Ash's bedroom. It consisted of one small bedroom and a combination kitchen/living room. The walls were a color that was supposed to be 'egg shell' but looked more like stained white. The last straw came when May opened the thin, shabby drapes in the bedroom. It looked out on the unit's dumpster.

They politely thanked the manager for showing it to them, explained it was quite literally the first place they had looked and said they would get back with him if they were interested. Neither of them had to say to the other that there wasn't the least bit of interest involved.

The next place was significantly nicer. It was mainly one very large room, with a small space for a bed on an open balcony type arrangement. The openness appealed to both of them, though it seemed it would be hard to have guests and still maintain their privacy. There was also the problem of May wanting to have her own room. She knew they wouldn't be fooling anyone, but she wanted to at least maintain the illusion that they were technically roommates at that point.

There were other stumbling blocks they hadn't figured on as well. Even though they were legally adults, both places wanted their tenants to be at least twenty-one years old or at least the person signing the lease. Granted, Ash could've signed it for them both since he had just turned twenty-one a few days ago, but there was another deal-breaker. The nicer apartment was only available with a minimum three year lease. Ash had been meeting with an architect working on some townhouses in a new suburb of Hoenn and was by then committed to that project. Their 'starter' home would be ready just about the time they were planning to get married. True, he would have more than enough money to keep paying for a long-term lease, but that just seemed wasteful.

The worst thing they were running across was the price of housing. About the time Ash started his Battle Frontier journey, his mother set up a trust fund for him. His trust fund allowance had risen exponentially over the last couple years, but both places they had seen would take a major chunk out of it, leaving them very little for groceries, utilities and that one major bugaboo of trainers, potions. It was looking more and more like he would have to ask his mother for an increase just to cover their living expenses. Either that or one or both of them would have to get actual jobs. Considering the fact they wanted to keep themselves free to concentrate on their careers, they really didn't think that would work.

"It's looking more and more like we may have to bite the bullet and go back to living apart." Ash said sadly, still leaning on the wheel.

May straightened up, arching her eyebrow slightly.

"Pikachu, do you think we should go back and live in different houses?"

The little electric mouse popped up from the back seat and slowly shook his head.

"PikaPikachu!"

May put her hand on his thigh and looked at his eyes.

"See, honey? Pikachu thinks we should keep looking. One way or another we're going to make this work. I know we didn't plan it this way, but let's face facts. We've been together constantly since January and neither one of us wants to go back to the way things were. Like I said yesterday morning, that would almost feel like we were breaking up."

"But we're not, May. I love you and I'll love you if we had to spend every single night apart until we get married."

She put her head on his shoulder and looked like she was about to start crying again. It just wasn't like her to be so emotional, but facing the prospect of one of the biggest changes in her life was hitting her far harder than either of them expected. Before they had gotten dressed and started their admittedly half-hearted search they did make love briefly, something they vowed not to do until they were married, but considering the circumstances, that had proven impossible. And even though they did make love, the tears were already starting. May called her mother and talked for a good half hour while Ash was in the shower and he could tell she was still upset when he came back up to _'their'_ room.

He thought actually going out to look would help. Instead it just led to both of them feeling frustrated and alone. It was like getting to a resort town and finding out there were no rooms available and having to sleep in their car.

"Do you think we screwed up not asking Mom and Dad about all of this? Really, we didn't give them much choice in the matter." May's mood was punctuated by a rumble of thunder. The first large drops started spattering against the windshield, hinting at the downpour to come. It had been gray all day, but it turned darker as the afternoon wore on.

Ash kissed the top of her head as the rain steadily got worse. Normally weather like that was very romantic to him, but there was simply too much on his mind to think that way at the moment.

"I don't know, May. After your Dad sat down and had his man-to-man with me, I thought everything was hakuna. I was kinda freaked out about it a little myself, but then he got so cool with us. You don't think it's the money thing, cause if that's it, I'm sure I could pitch in for room and board and stuff."

"Maybe, but, unless it was Dad trying to make a point about something, that just doesn't make sense. It's just weird."

"Weird? How's that?"

"Well, for about the first month…let's just say things were a little out of hand there for a while. Plus, we're not the quietest people, you know. Just, I don't know. Last night and this morning, that was the first time…ever. It's…why now? Why when we already had a self-imposed deadline?" She looked up at the three story building they were parked near. They didn't expect much, considering it was only the third place they had been to.

"You sure we want to be doing this?"

"I don't want to end up being forced to take that Raticate's nest we looked at first."

"This isn't as easy as I thought it would be," She slumped even further down in her chair, "Wait, what about Brock?"

"That may have been good before we started, you know, living together. I know he's down with us, but you know what his father's like. It'd probably be worse than what we're going through with your Dad right now, even though Brock technically lives out on his own."

"I guess you're right. Okay, it doesn't look like the rain's going to let up any time soon, so it's now or never."

By the time they got to the manager's office, they were wishing they had put off seeing the apartment until the weather cleared. The rain was still coming down in heavy droplets and they were soaked to the bone just five steps from the car.

The building itself was older, but it was in very good condition. Instead of having a front door, the main access to the apartment was through a central hallway. The carpet was reasonably new and the lighting was good and they could smell paint that had probably been put up just in the last month.

The space was still a little on the small side, but all of the views were of the surrounding mountains. The downstairs consisted of a great room, a real dining room and a kitchen that, while small, had relatively new appliances. Upstairs were two bedrooms joined by a single bathroom. The only fly in the ointment there was the lack of a proper shower stall, though the large, deep claw-foot tub had an antique looking brass shower curtain. They exchanged glances. Both of them were 'shower' people, preferring baths for relaxing rather than bathing.

The rooms were semi-furnished, pretty much lacking only beds. Since there were two rooms, they would each be able to set up their own spaces. Closet space wasn't the best, but it was comparable to what they were used to. The manager left them alone in the kitchen to talk it out, probably thinking about going to find a mop since the young couple was still fairly damp.

"What do you think, May?"

She sort of half-smiled.

"I could live with it. I'm not really happy about the bathroom, but like you said, it's only a year."

May eyed the range with a more professional eye than Ash did.

"Not exactly a gourmet kitchen either, but I can make do."

"It's a safe kitchen." Ash chuckled slightly.

"How's that?"

"There's not enough room in here for both of us to cook, so I'll have to stay out of your way."

She gripped his hand.

"Don't get too down on yourself. You can handle yourself pretty well in the kitchen now."

"Only when you, or Mom, or Caroline are looking over my shoulder the whole time. Well, I know it's only the third place, but the rent is livable, we're not that far from your parents and they'll take a one-year lease." He began looking around the room again.

"Part of me says jump at it, May, but another is saying, too good to be true."

"Yeah. When's the other shoe going to come off? Is there something we're missing? The manager already said it's okay that I'm just nineteen if we have good references."

"That's just it. It feels like we're forgetting something. Maybe we should just take the guy's card and make a list. There's got to be something better out there somewhere."

"Yeah." She looked around again. "But this is the only unit they have available. I'm willing to bet by tomorrow it'll be spoken for. Besides, I bet we could both fit comfortably in that tub." She smiled and leaned her hip up against his.

"Sure beats that little tub in my bathroom, or the shower in yours for some nice, hot soaking." She purred.

The manager chose that moment to reappear, giving Ash the impression he might have been eavesdropping.

"Well, what do you kids think?"

May was still holding Ash's hand, and over the last few years they had formed a sort of language all their own with a series of squeezes and touches. They both had come to the conclusion they had better jump at the chance. It was one of the least expensive places they had on their list and it fit most of their criteria. They could live with the slight deficiencies since it was a temporary arrangement anyhow.

"We'll t…" May got out of her mouth before the manager pointed at Ash's shoulder.

"What is that, that thing?" He asked, his face a mask of disgust.

Ash glanced to the side, realizing that Pikachu had climbed up there.

"Oh, that's Pikachu. He's my best buddy."

"Pika!"

The man just turned up his nose.

"I'm afraid we don't allow pets." He said disdainfully.

Pikachu looked disappointed. May and Ash exchanged a look, realizing _that_ was what they were forgetting. With one more mutual squeeze of their hands, they stood up straight and started for the door.

"Thanks for your time, but Pikachu is family and I'm afraid this place just isn't family enough for him." May said as they headed back out into the hallway.

* * *

Walking back out of the apartment building, May and Ash started for their car. Pikachu hung his head, upset that he had ruined his humans' opportunity to have a nice apartment.

"Pika…" He said with a sigh.

"Hey, don't worry about it, buddy. We didn't need that stupid apartment anyway. I mean, yeah it was the best one we'd seen so far, but we knew there was catch. If they're not accepting of you then they didn't deserve our time in the first place. We're a team. A family, remember?"

Pikachu seemed to perk up slightly at his trainer's words.

May sighed slightly. She felt somebody lightly push passed her as she walked by.

"Oh I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to…May? May Maple?" The other person said.

May recognized that voice. She looked up at the person who just ran into her. He was tall, had feathery green hair, kind of sickly-looking, and had piecing jade green eyes. He was smiling at her and his toothy grin was nothing short of dazzling.

May blinked several times before a smile appeared on her lips.

"Wally? Wally Woodley? Is that you?"

The man's smile got even wider.

"Oh my gosh! May it is you!"

May squealed slightly before giving her old friend a hug.

"I can't believe it's you! It's been so long!"

Ash, completely oblivious to the whole thing, excitingly tapped his fiancée on the shoulder.

"May, did you know Brock has a restaurant right here in Hoenn? We can eat there for free!" He shoved the unwrapped newspaper in May's face, the cover showing a picture of Brock standing in a kitchen with a spatula in his hand and a towel over his right shoulder.

May smiled sweetly before pulling Ash closer to her.

"Wally, this is my fiancé, Ash Ketchum. We're supposed to be getting married sometime next year."

The green-haired man put his hand to his chin as a small smile crept on his lips.

"So this is the famous Ash Ketchum I've heard so much about."

May turned to face Ash.

"Ash, this is Wally Woodley. He's a good friend of mine. I met him when I was a kid."

"Nice to meet you, Wally." Ash extended his hand towards him.

"Nice to meet you too. I've been dying to meet the man our May has been talking about so fondly for the last few years." He said as he shook Ash's hand.

"So, you and May are friends?" Ash asked once he got his hand back.

"Actually, Wally is Brendan's friend. I met him right after Brendan began his journey."

Ash's smile slowly morphed into a frown when he realized this was one of Brendan's buddies.

"Brendan introduced us after he helped him catch his first pokémon." May then turned to her old friend, "How'd you do in the Pokémon League, Wally?"

Wally grimaced.

"I lost. I was crushed before I even made it to the top 20. And I thought Gardevoir and I had a trained enough to come out with a victory."

"It's not all about training," Ash spoke up, "You need to have a strong bond with your pokémon as well. Training and battling isn't enough. Sometimes, just praising your pokémon over the simplest of things and letting them know how much you care is enough."

"I guess I hadn't thought about it that way." Wally said with a small sigh.

May put her hand on his shoulder.

"Don't give up, Wally. I'm sure you'll do better in your next League entry."

He seemed to smile slightly at her encouragement.

"Yeah, ninth time's the charm?" He straightened up slightly, "After all, I am going to be the world's greatest trainer. I can't let eight losses put me down. I'm gonna try my very best to be the greatest trainer I can be!"

"Now that's the Wally I know and love." May said with a smile.

He returned it.

"Well, it was great seeing you again, May. I gotta go to a doctor's appointment but we should totally catch up."

"Totally."

With a nod of the head, the young man was off.

"Nice meeting you, Ash!" He called out before he disappeared from sight.

"Weird little fellow isn't he?" Ash said.

"This coming from the man who cross-dressed not once, but three times?"

"Those were not on my will! I was forced!"

"Uh Huh, sure Ash." May had a wicked smile on her face.

"May, you know I was forced! Heck, you forced me to wear that stupid Juliet costume!"

"Romeo and Juliet are together now, aren't they?"

"But at what cost? I almost filed a restraining order on Brock because of it."

That made her smile. "Liar."

"Excuse me? Did you have a lovesick man chase you around a patio deck, trying to plant a kiss on you, I dare not say where?"

May stopped and grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling his face close to hers.

"Ashy, I seem to recall you mentioning a new restaurant opening right here in Hoenn, with our best friend giving us free meals? I'm thinking we go to eat." She inhaled deeply for a moment, "In fact, you smell good enough to eat right now."

"Must be that darn orange shampoo I used this morning," Ash said as he moved his hand through his unkempt black hair.

May chuckled slightly. "I was actually thinking a bit more dirtier than that, baby."

"Eep." Was all he could get out.

* * *

"May, I'm sorry. I was being selfish Thursday morning. I've thought about it, I've talked with your mother and we've agreed that there is nothing wrong with the two of you living here together until you get married."

Norman gripped the rearview mirror of his Jaguar and turned it so he could look into his own eyes. Of course there was a vanity mirror on the sun visor, but being a man he never really thought about it, especially when there was a handy mirror already there out in the open.

The problem was he really didn't mean all those words that spilled out of his mouth so easily while he was alone in the car, sitting in traffic on the expressway. In reality, he no more wanted the two of them living in that situation anywhere, be it in his house or in their own place. Yes, he would be the first one to admit he was a hypocrite. Granted, he never actually lived with Caroline until the day they got married, but that was just about the only thing they had waited for. They took trips together, sometimes stayed at each other's homes overnight. Really, the only difference was the fact May and Ash were that way full time.

He found himself asking the question whether if he had to do it all over again, would he have waited for the wedding for everything? It would seem so noble and right to say yes, but, in a fit of personal honesty he had been feeling, he knew that he really didn't regret any of it. What's good for the Golduck…

That didn't change the way he felt. There was a nagging wrongness to the situation he could not really put his finger on. It was the fact he could not articulate that feeling that kept allowing him to talk himself out of his earlier resolve.

Really, he would have preferred his precious daughter had remained a virgin until her wedding night, regardless of the fact her parents had not been. He wasn't the least bit angry at Ash for deflowering his little girl, or at least he wasn't when he really got down and thought about it. No, that wasn't being honest either. He had forgiven Ash for her loss of innocence. There was a difference there. That meant at one point he did hold some sort of animosity toward him over it. Still, all of that was in his own mind, and when he came to terms with that, he could put those feelings behind him, realizing how much he did love the boy anyhow.

What struck him as odd, at least for him, was that by officially allowing the couple to live together in his house until then, they would actually be like that for more than a year. From his perspective, that seemed like an awfully long time, though it had, in reality, been going on for almost six months. In that time, despite his wish to avoid it at all costs, he had accidentally walked in on them on several occasions, not having sex but close enough. Without banishing himself completely from her room during that time, he was sure it was going to happen again. Perhaps that was part of his discomfort.

Norman did grin slightly, though. Perhaps the thought about what was going on in the third floor loft made both him and Caroline a little friskier than they had been in the last couple years. Back in January, during the big ice storm that crippled the region over a long weekend, the kids had turned in not long after dark, considering there wasn't much more to do with the power off. With a little devilish smile, Norman got up from his place near the fire and did something that had not been done in several years. He shut and latched the pocket doors leading to the den. He poured a little glass of scotch for each of himself and Caroline and cuddled in front of the blazing logs for some time. In the process, both of them started discarding their clothing, one little bit at a time, until they broke one of the cardinal rules they had just set down for the younger couple. What made both of them feel even dirtier was the fact they had a fireplace in their bedroom. Still, that one was small and was gas powered. There was something special about a _'real'_ fire, with the logs crackling and occasionally sending a cascade of sparks up the chimney as they made love there for a while since his princess was a baby.

Maybe the recent turn in the kids' relationship wasn't so bad after all. Their relationship was as deeply committed as anyone who was already married. Sure they were just nineteen and twenty-one, but so was he once. He only wished he had something like his daughter had found, like what Ash had found in his daughter. By the time they actually tied the knot they would have been engaged a lot longer than even he would have thought possible. He always assumed they would have a long engagement, but the more he thought about it now, the more he thought it had gone on long enough.

Even before they were dating, they did seem sort of like a married couple. They even dated, though they didn't call it that then. Those were the kinds of dates he wanted her to have at that age, where they were out having fun instead of doing things that would be appropriate later (as in now.) Caroline may have had a _'what are they waiting for?'_ attitude about the physical stuff, but he was starting to feel that way about the big picture.

The traffic started moving again. He twisted the mirror back so he could see behind him, but he kept replaying what he was going to say to them in his head. He hoped they would be home. If not, he'd simply call them. If they were over at Delia's house (they made frequent trips _trying_ to discuss their wedding plans), he would simply drive over there. He would rather be able to sit down with them in his own home, hopefully with Caroline there as well.

He really stuck his foot deep into his mouth on that one. When she finally came home late the night before, she was still visibly upset, though she didn't rip into him as much as he thought she would for driving the kids off to Professor Birch's house for the night. Since Brendan left on his next journey, the two had been visiting the Hoenn professor often. Caroline counseled that it was actually wise on May's part to do so, giving herself some time to cool off. Still, the air was a little chilly in the bedroom that night, and it wasn't because the thermostat had been turned down any.

Norman had come to realize just how wrong that would have been on his part. There was good and there was bad about them being together, but the good outweighed the other by so much that the bad really didn't matter so much. It all boiled down to him being uncomfortable from time to time.

He made the last turn into his subdivision. He was about an hour early getting home, but Max had already wrapped up what the two of them had been working on and didn't want to get started on their next assignment until the next day. The young man was busy at work with an artificial intelligence and would likely be at the gym until he couldn't keep his eyes open, but the real work involving new equipment for the pokémon to use was coming along nicely.

Norman sighed in relief when he saw the mint green Prius sitting in the garage as the door came up. May, and most likely Ash, would most likely be there.

* * *

The house was oddly quiet when Norman let himself in by the garage door, making him think perhaps the kids weren't there after all. For a moment he considered sitting down in his easy chair and reading through the paper one more time. He discarded the notion, since he had read it cover to cover that morning before work. Caroline was giving him a partial 'silent treatment' so he had plenty of time to occupy himself with reading.

Sighing, he mounted the stairs. With the house apparently empty he decided to go up to his study located in the brick tower centered above the house. There he could see the distant hills from the large, circular window mounted on one wall. He could also log onto his computer and chat with some of his friends. Birch and Wood, were all excited about discovering a new, very large black hole, that may have been created by a legendary pokémon. He wasn't much for their brand of astronomy, but they were old friends and their discussions really didn't revolve that much around work.

Norman chuckled slightly, thinking that he could joke with Ash about the new discovery. It had been many years since he last made his jesting threats if he did wrong by May. In fact, the last time he could actually remember doing so was their first real planned date, when he had Professor Elm and Elite Member Drake come over to mimic fitting him for a space suit and lending pokémon for 'battle' usage. The poor boy had taken it all seriously and was scared out of his mind, prompting Norman to back off from it pretty much for good, though they did joke about it from time to time. Maybe Elm could fax over some of the pictures and he could write "Honeymoon Destination" on it. Ash would certainly get a kick out of that.

As he walked by on his way to his private inner sanctum, he thought he heard soft voices. It appeared they were home after all, perhaps playing on May's computer. Ash always enjoyed watching Pokémon Battles online as May did Contests.

Happy that he would be able to start apologizing and offering to have them stay after all, he opened the door and walked right in…


	3. Chapter 3

_Earlier that day:_

It seemed a little funny to be in May's room, even though they had only spent the one night away from there and had been gone less than twenty-four hours. The reality of their new situation really hit home when they got up there and realized it wasn't so much their room, but May's room…May's childhood room.

Her bed was exactly the same size as Ash's. It was nothing more than a standard 'full' bed, one official size smaller than a queen, yet being rather small, they always had enough room for each other. It helped that they spent the greater part of their time taking up less space than Ash's old twin bed.

Yet now it looked so small. It really was meant just for one person. Until they had started sharing it, May always stacked a pair of King-sized pillows right in the center. The few times they ended up in it together before they started making love those long pillows were always enough for them. Now there were two queen-size pillows on each side, making it officially a couple's bed.

It wasn't quite dinner time, but neither of them was the least bit hungry. May had gotten over a lot of her earlier upset, especially after the talk they had with Brock at lunch.

_By __the time Ash and May reached the restaurant where Brock worked, they found the parking lot filled. When they entered the restaurant they found that it was packed to capacity_._ They gawked at the spectacle. The interior of the restaurant was very elegant. The peach and white wallpaper matched beautifully with the crystal chandeliers. May thought the Clamperl and Gorebyss pattern on the walls added a little cuteness to the already gorgeous room. There were waiters and waitresses at almost every table, whether they were serving, taking orders, or fixing up the table for their next costumers._

_There was a podium right at the entrance where a woman with long auburn stood. As one couple came ahead of them, she greeted them before asking "How many?__"  
_

_Ash tapped May on the shoulder before pointing to a corner of the room and their smiles got even brighter. Brock __was there, busy with two of his assistants. He was wearing black slacks and a tie but that wasn't what had them grinning so broadly. It was the white chef's hat and double breasted jacket that held their gaze._

_He broke out into a huge grin himself when he spotted the two of them standing there. He was in his element, doing what he was seemingly born to do. He waved to them from afar before making a gesture with his hand._

"_He's telling us to wait for him." May said. _

_When he finished conversing with his assistants, he went back to the cooking area in the back room while one of his assistants approached the couple._

"_Brock says he'll be with you in a second. There's a private booth in the back for you three to talk." She said. _

_Nodding their heads, Ash and May followed the waitress as she led them to a small table set up in another room towards the back of the restaurant. The area was much quieter than where most customers were having their dinner and the atmosphere was somewhat calmer. Ash held May's chair out for her before he took his seat._

_A few minutes later, Brock entered the small room. He had two plates with small steaks in his hands._ _Several asparagus stalks were to the side along with a sliced orange and lettuce. He placed the two filets on the table and took a small shaker from his apron pocket and lightly seasoned the two steaks. Then he took his hat off and set it aside as he took a seat across from them._

"_Well guys. It's been a long time."_

"_I'll say. How've you been Brock?" May asked as she spread a napkin on her lap._

"_I've been great. Business has been going well for the last few months. A critic came here the other day. He gave us a four star rating."_

"_Brock, that's great!"_

_Brock just shrugged._

"_So, how are things in paradise?" Brock asked, his left eyebrow arched slightly._

_Ash smiled and put his arm behind May._

"_Things are sweet. Only one more year until Ash Ketchum's no longer a bachelor."_

"_Be careful," May said as she cut into the filet. _

"_I am. That's why I said bachelor and not single." _

_May abruptly dropped her folk and looked at her fiancé scornfully. She rolled her tongue around in her mouth._

"_That's not what I meant, May."_

"_What did you mean, then?"_

"_I just meant that next year I won't be an unmarried man anymore."_

"_As opposed to what? A man who isn't seeing anybody. Single?"_

"_No…I…I…"_

"_I see things are still the same between you two," Brock replied with a light chuckle. _

"_No, we're actually doing a lot better," Ash said. His hand was no longer behind May but resting firmly in his lap._

"_You two better eat before your food gets cold. I made that especially for you."_

_Taking a bite of the steak, May's eyes just about rolled back in her head._

"_Oh, man, Brock this is delicious!" _

_Curious as to how the steak tasted himself, Ash cut into his filet and put a piece in his mouth. He gave nearly the same response as May._

"_Ohhhh…I'm in heaven!"_

"_Two more satisfied customers." Brock said absolutely beaming._

"_How did you do this?" Ash asked as he continued to stuff himself with the meat his friend just served him._

"_If you're asking how I created the steaks, it's nothing but an old family recipe with my own spin on things. If you're asking how I got this restaurant started, it wasn't easy. I had to call in a lot of favors, see many contractors, and don't even get me started on the funding for this mansion. But in the end, I'm proud of myself for my accomplishments."_

"_You should be. I wished Ash and me could say the same," May said glumly as she slumped down in her seat. Ash immediately put down his fork and wrapped his arms around his fiancée, trying to comfort her._

"_Something wrong?" Brock asked._

"_May's Dad is kicking me out," Ash replied as he rubbed May's shoulders._

"_He wants Ash to look for his own place to live…I guess he's kicking the both of us out."_

_Brock looked at them for about a minute as the gears clicked into place._

"_This is kind of sudden. I didn't think the two of you were going to do that until your house was ready. __Did he tell you that?"_

"_He told Ash that he needed to start looking for his own place to live. If he wants Ash out, then naturally I'd have to go too."_

_He nodded, having already guessed at the real impetus of their search._

"_Okay. I can understand that. But to be __quite honest with you, guys, I have to say, I think he might be right."_

"_You do?" There was a little hurt in her voice._

"_Yes. I'll be happy to let the two of you stay with me as long as you think you need to, and I'm sure it would have been nicer if you had waited until the wedding, but let's be realistic. You've been engaged for almost a year, you spend almost every waking moment together when you get the chance, and now you spend all your nights together. The only reason I haven't said anything is because you spend most of your time at your house, May. Not to mention I'm just about tied up here at the restaurant. Really, if you think about it, it's not really fair for the two of you, and it's not fair to the rest of your family in this situation. Neither family is about to have an empty nest."_

"_I think you're right, Brock." May agreed. "It's just, it seemed to come out of the blue, and I know it sounds kind of selfish, but I love my room."_

"_You probably do. __Have you two figured out where you're going to stay? Or how soon you're going to move out?"_

"_Not really. We looked at three apartments this morning. None of them met our standards. The first one made us want to retch, the second one was too expensive and demanding, and the third wouldn't take Pikachu." Ash said regretfully. The little mouse was actually back at the house, sleeping in May's room._

"_That's gotta be tough." Brock said once he finished listening to his friends' day._

"_It's looking more and more like we're either gonna have to stay in May's house, or live apart—"_

"_No!" May instantly sat up. "I told you Ash, that'd seem too much like we're breaking up."_

"_But May, what other choice do we have?"_

"_I don't know if this will help but I was online the other day and stumbled upon an apartment complex while looking for some interior designers and decorators to help me with the floor plans in the café upstairs."_

"_You have a café too?" Ash asked, almost a little too excitedly._

_Brock nodded._

"_Anyway, the apartment's located in Mossdeep City. I don't know if this is anything like what you've seen before, though. Based on what you've told me, this one might be dead-endish too. It may be a little while before you actually find your own place to live."_

"_We won't know unless we try, Brock. And if it is, then that's puts us back at square one." May said as wiped her mouth with her napkin._

"_I'll run a copy of the website and send you the link. Forrest was looking for an apartment not too long ago. I should still have it on my computer."_

_Leaning lazily on his right hand, a sly smile spread across Ash's lips._

"_So Brock, you're a rather successful restaurateur. You're still a breeder aren't yah?"_

"_Last time I checked."_

_His smile widened._

"_So I presume you found your significant other by now?"_

_Brock gave him a quizzical look._

"_My significant other?"_

"_You know, your better half? That special someone?"_

_Brock blinked twice. _

"_Girlfriend, Brock. You got one yet?" May asked._

_Brock nervously rubbed the nape of his neck._

"_Ah…no…Not really."_

_Ash rolled his eyes before leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. May simply shook her head._

"_Why doesn't that surprise me?"_

Seeing her room brought it all back for a moment. She lay down on 'her' side and curled up with her Torchic doll, while Ash sat beside her, gently rubbing her back with his open palm.

May turned onto her back and twined her fingers with his.

"I'm going to miss this room."

"I am too, and I've only 'lived' in it for a few months. I can only imagine how you feel, since you've been in here since you got out of the crib."

May reached up with her other hand and pulled him down to her by his shoulder, kissing him fiercely. He wrapped both arms around her body as he gave into the kiss. It was cloudy outside, so it wasn't that unusual for them to be indoors at a time like that. Still, neither wanted to be anywhere but there. May closed her eyes and tilted her head backwards as he placed small kisses on her neck and her ear, burying his face in her copper hair where it covered her left ear.

Some thirty minutes later, as they lay entwined beneath the covers, bathed in the afterglow, May brushed back his hair, looking into his eyes.

"Do you think this may be our last hurrah here?"

"Only if your Dad is really kicking us out. You heard Brock, it's going to take us a little while to actually find a place and I really don't see Norman getting all in a big hurry about all this." His fingers brushed the small of her back. "Maybe there isn't even a place for us to hang our hat and we'll be stuck here until our place gets built anyway."

"Actually, baby, I think Dad and Brock are right. Just think what it would be like if my Nana knew about this. Remember how she was when we went down to her place for Christmas?"

"Nana was a lot cooler with us than you think. That was just her way."

"Yeah, but that's Daddy's way too, and what we did…I don't mean this." She put her forehead against his, "I mean not giving him any real say in the matter was very wrong. That was Nana's house and this is Mom and Dad's house."

Ash laughed softly.

"I think I heard your mother cheering that first time we came up here, even though we weren't really active until now."

May echoed his laugh.

"Don't think that was cheering, baby. Think that was something else. Okay, we're so not breaking up, ever, but do you really think we should go on like this? We can still go away on the weekends and all."

Ash rolled onto his back, looking up at the slanted ceiling.

"I think that would have worked after the first week, but now, I really don't want to do that. We're a part of each other, always have been."

May nodded, putting her head down on his shoulder.

"Then I want to find a place, a place we can call our own. I don't care if it's that little closet near the gym or a mansion across town. This was my room, that was your room. I want a place that is ours, not something we've taken from somebody else, even if that somebody else is my parents, your mom, or Brock. When Mom and Dad get home, I want to tell them that we're going to look for something and as soon as we find it, we're going to move there. We'll look up the apartment Brock was talking about. If they want us to sleep apart until then, which I really don't think they do, we'll do that. If they do, that'll give us all the more reason to find a place."

"You think we can actually find something good? You're kind of picky sometimes."

"Picky? I like that one place we looked at, if the guy hadn't been a jerk about Pikachu."

"Yeah. The little guy's upset about coming out at the wrong moment. He liked that place too." He leaned back toward her and gave her a little kiss.

"I still liked the thought of that bath tub." He added with a smile.

"The newer places seem to have decent bathrooms. I think there are lots of couples out there that can see the benefits of a large tub. Don't worry, we'll find something." She wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him closer. After about ten minutes, she unwrapped her arms and started to get up.

"Come on. Might as well start the search again before the day is out. We should take a look at the list Brock sent as well as some ads we can find online. Maybe we'll be lucky and find something that fits our standards."

* * *

"Ash, is that any place for a gentleman's hand to be?" The words slipped out of Norman's mouth before he could stop himself. He was already mentally berating himself for just walking in on them. Even though it was about five thirty in the afternoon there was always the possibility that he could have walked in on something much more embarrassing than seeing Ash with his hand a touch too low on May's hip. It had already happened a couple times, but that was in the early morning and late at night.

Ash grinned a little weakly, his hand creeping ever so slowly up from its place on the curve of her backside. He was sitting on the extra chair they had brought up so they could both work at the desk, watching as she perused some apartment ads on the internet. May paused the list she had been looking at on her computer and got up, crossing the room and giving her father a big hug.

Norman momentarily forgot everything he had been planning to say to the two of them since discussing the matter with Caroline over the last twenty-eight hours. Instead he was getting the same type of embrace his daughter had always given him. He was expecting a great deal of anxiety and even some anger from her instead of an outpouring of love.

"So, what have the two of you been up to today?" He asked once she let him go.

They glanced at each other, both of them blushing lightly, though he either missed that part or blocked it out.

"We've been talking about things, about each other, about you and Mom." May said, turning her desk chair around and sitting down. Ash leaned on the back of his chair, mostly looking at May, just as he almost always did. Norman marveled at the way he seemed to worship her, as if, even after being together over five years he still couldn't believe how lucky he was. He wasn't lucky, he was just right. Right for her, she was right for him. All around just right.

He sighed, his shoulders drooping slightly. One way or another he had to charge ahead.

"Look, I'm really sorry about Thursday morning. I was out of line…"

May held up her hand, then reached over and took Ash's.

"No, Daddy, we're the ones who are sorry. We put you in a position you never thought you were going to be in. It was very wrong for us to just move in together like this without even considering your feelings."

"May, really, I would much rather see the two of you together like this than not."

She shook her head.

"After our journey in Orre…" She gripped her fiancé's hand even tighter. "…all we wanted was to be together. I guess there was some notion in the back of our minds that it was so important that we confused it with acting like adults. In the process we ended up doing something that's clearly made you uncomfortable."

"But I'm the one who was uncomfortable, May. I've thought long and hard about it and that's really my problem. It's just so hard to come to terms with the fact you are really growing up." He sat down on the corner of the bed, facing his 'kids.'

"Daddy, there's a reason you feel that way. What we have been doing, well, I can't say that most people don't, but there are plenty of people like you in the world who don't think it's right and proper. Then there's the fact I'm really only nineteen. I can't even go into a bar to get a drink yet, not that I'd want to."

May had a couple of experiences with alcohol, neither of them truly pleasant after the fact. Ash had learned to appreciate wine, though that was more of a professional interest, considering his one-time culinary training.

"May, I know I sometimes see you as just a little girl with ribbons and pigtails." He nodded toward a picture on the small table she used as her nightstand. She was around five or six at the time, standing on the beach of Lake May with Brendan at her side wearing an inflatable water ring. "At the same time, you have probably been the single most mature young woman I have ever known. Age is such an arbitrary thing. It's not about how many years you have been on this Earth, it's about how you act."

"That's what I'm trying to say, Daddy. When all this started, it wasn't because it was the right thing to do, it was because we thought we could get away with it. When we got home this afternoon, we talked about things, and one of the things we agreed to was that, while this was my room, it's really just _my_ room. I wanted to hang on to that while still being able to be with my Ashy." She gave his hand another squeeze, looking him in the eyes.

"What May's saying, Norman, is that we think it's time we had a place that was ours. Not mine or hers, but ours." Ash returned her look, smiling softly.

May looked at the floor, her cheeks flushing once more, deeper this time than they had earlier.

"There's also the other thing. We can be…passionate, to put it mildly. Even though we've been together for several months, here at home, and at Ash's we always feel we have to hold back. You know…"

"Being quiet?" Norman asked softly, understanding what she was trying to say. Then he chuckled softly.

"Actually, May, your mother and I have learned to be that way for a long, long time, considering you and Max were living here too. That's just part and parcel of living as a couple with other people. I know talking about this is really embarrassing to you, but imagine if you were living in an apartment. The people who hear you there won't be your family."

Amazingly, May got even redder.

"I hadn't thought of it quite like that."

"Listen, Baby. Your mother and I love you like all the world. We love Ash too, and we want the two of you to be happy. As I said earlier, I was out of line Thursday morning. This has always been a very close family and I have to accept that you are now an adult and want to do adult things. Your mother has been after me for years to accept that. That's why she talked me into giving you my blessing for that first trip you took together. Now, I've got a general idea what may have gone on then, and what may have gone on with the trips since. I don't really need or want to know specifics, but we are all family here and that means we take the good and the bad. When it all comes down to it, I'm the only one who has had a problem with this.

"There's also the fact, when I really looked at it, that I was the first one to suggest that you, Ash, actually go out and find your own place. When you step back and look at it, I was literally telling the two of you to 'shack up.' A couple years ago I would have never even considered such a thing. I had this old-fashioned notion the two of you were going to wait until you got married, though I thought that may have come sooner."

May looked at Ash again.

"That kind of was the plan, but you know, like that poet said, 'best laid plans' and all."

Norman smiled a bit at that. He always liked Robert Burns, and had even privately composed his own version of "To a Mouse" that involved a certain lab Rattata he knew back in this own school days. Granted, it involved a tiny, Rattata-sized battle suit with a working plasma blaster, but it still held a warm place in his heart.

"Well, that's all water under the bridge. May, Ash, I think it will be just fine to keep things the way they are until you get married next year. Anything else is just going to result in the two of you being miserable, and that is the last thing any of us want."

May got up from her chair and sat down beside her father, hugging him again.

"Thanks, Daddy. It's just…we're decided that you really were right. It's time we went out and found something." She pointed at the computer, just moments before the screensaver popped up. "This morning we looked at a few places. It was starting to look like we were either going to have to settle for something tiny and drab, or we were going to have to board Pikachu somewhere."

"That first place we looked was kind of nasty." Ash said, leaning back down on the back of his seat.

"I've been looking at some listings online, though. Brock also gave us a list too. We still have to do some first-hand looking, but it looks like there should be plenty out there we can afford."

"But May—"

"Daddy, it's something we want…something we need. It doesn't mean we don't love you and Mom…and Max. It's just time we finally left the nest. Look at all of our friends, both the ones we grew up with and even the ones we've made along our journeys. Ash and I are the only ones left who haven't moved on already, and it's not like we're moving away like Brendan and his girlfriend did. The place Ash is having built is only 45 minutes away. Then too, we've got friends and sometimes it's really awkward for them to come see us here, living like we're still newbie trainers."

"And we'd really like a queen size or bigger bed." Ash added.

"Ash!" May glared at him, blushing slightly again.

"I can always go buy a bigger bed. May, is this really what you want? I don't want to lose my Princess."

She hugged him again.

"You're never losing me. That's final. But it is fair, to us, to you and Mom, even to Max."

They all turned when they heard footsteps at the open hatch. Caroline came into the room and sat down with her husband.

"Are we all getting past the little incident here yesterday morning?" She asked, looking at each of them in turn.

"We were just talking about that, dear. May and Ash have decided they are going to look for an apartment."

Caroline looked angry for a moment.

"I thought we agreed that would not be necessary." She went rigid, moving away from Norman ever so slightly.

"Mom, it's okay. Daddy said it was okay for us to stay here like we are, but Ash and I decided ourselves that maybe this is the best thing." She leaned over so she could see both her parents. "It's not like it's going to be overnight. We have to find a place first, then we're going to have to worry about furniture, if the place isn't furnished, and then there's moving all of our stuff."

May stopped, realizing there was a tear running down her mother's cheek. As much as Caroline Maple had been trying to maneuver the two of them together, as much as she had been behind virtually every step of their relationship, May realized that she might be experiencing just the same emotions as her father at the prospect of them moving on.

Norman put a hand on both May's leg and Caroline's.

"Listen, maybe right now isn't the time to make any kind of rash decisions."

He looked straight at Ash.

"The two of you wanted this to be a good last summer for you without having to worry about jobs or traveling. I don't see any reason that you should run right out of here. Since we're all here, why don't we get a little dressed up and I'll take everyone out to dinner. I think I heard somewhere a certain young lady has a thing for steak."

That got their attention. If there was any particular way to Ash's heart, it was certainly through his stomach. May was visibly licking her chops as well. Norman had no way of knowing that was precisely what she had for dinner the night before, or earlier that day, but there were always other choices. She had a filet, but there were strips, and porterhouses, and ribs. None of the Maples (or Ketchums for that matter) were in any danger of becoming vegetarians any time soon.

"Oh, and Pikachu can come too. I'm sure we'll have to get a whole other order of flowered onion for him, but he's family too, you know…uh, I haven't seen him since I got home."

Ash grinned.

"Oh, I'm sure he's downstairs. You know him, he can't get out of the room fast enough when…we…" He dragged to a halt when May's eyes got as big as dinner plates, shooting daggers at him.

Norman blushed himself, suddenly realizing that the bed was not as neatly made as it had been that morning. Caroline couldn't stand an unmade bed and often got to it long before the kids did. There were even times when they had gotten up early to go to the bathroom and come back into their room to discover it crisply made, forcing them to stay up at that point, even if they had meant to sleep in. May could make her bed and often did, but there were subtle differences. If they had been home since just before lunch time and the bed had to be remade…

Caroline just rolled her eyes and shook her head. They were young like that once. Heck, they were only in their forties, they weren't_ that_ old.


	4. Chapter 4

They had probably driven past the place a thousand times on their way to and from the May's house. It certainly didn't look much like an apartment building. Instead it looked like what it actually had been once—a mill of some sort. The serious looking asphalt parking lot and minimal decorative vegetation made them think it was actually converted for business use. The rather prosaic name of Mossdeep Mills didn't help all that much either.

They stumbled across it while looking through the listings Brock sent them. With a little research they learned the name was actually historically applied to the building, which was a red brick edifice with towering white trimmed, multi-paned windows. Despite being slightly more than one hundred years old the building did have a crisp, new look to it, having recently undergone an expensive conversion from dilapidated warehouse space to new studio apartments.

May pulled the printout from her purse.

"This can't be right. They want how much for a space here?"

The housing market was proving to be a bit tighter than they expected. Up until they got to the converted mill building, they were slowly becoming resigned to either living in a tiny, closet sized apartment with absolutely no furnishings, or they were going to have to live across town.

Both remained adamant in their resolve to move out. The 'gift' of having the house to themselves for that weekend, then a ten day private vacation pretty much drove home the fact they were much more comfortable away from May's parents. No matter how much they loved them, they knew it would never be quite right living under the same roof under their current circumstances. The week-long family vacation they went on afterwards hammered the point home even more. Being in a hotel room right next to them, hearing what they did during the night…they almost had to head away again just to have some time that really felt 'private' after that.

"What's not right?" Ash looked up at the second floor windows. The ceilings looked extremely high, reminding them of one of the first places they looked at.

"The asking price for this place. It's like three quarters of what those small little places in Littleroot want, but we're still just about a few hours away from my parents' house."

Both of them were in good enough shape to walk that kind of distance, though a few years ago they got spoiled by having Ash's battered old hatchback to ride in. For a strange, little moment May missed that car, remembering only the good about the only vehicle they had between them for a while before her Prius.

"I dunno, May. You turned your nose up at that other studio apartment we looked at a while back."

"That place cost twice as much as this one and it was a lot further from Mom and Dad. I don't know about you, honey, but I'd just as soon put up with living with either of our parents for another year if we're still going to have to drive all the way across town anyhow. If this is nice…let me put it this way, we're perfectly welcome in two homes, three if you count Brock's, so if we do the family thing, it can always be in one of those, so an apartment could be our own little private place, just for us, then when our house is ready, that's when we can play host and all that."

"It's your call."

May took his hand.

"Don't ever talk like that. It's both our calls, every time. We're equal partners in everything."

He smiled softly at her.

"I'll remember that the next time we're on a journey and you're calling all the shots."

She gave his hand a good squeeze, a little firmer than would be considered gentle.

"Not cool, Ash. We tried it the other way a couple times and, well, we've each got our strengths and we've each got our weaknesses, or would you like to try your hand at hollandaise sauce again?"

He shuddered, letting go of her hand.

"So much butter wasted." He shook his head sadly, causing May to roll her eyes in response.

The office was a brick structure that had once been some sort of out-building in the mill complex. Some of the walls had been knocked down and replaced with replicas of the tall windows, making it look like a miniature of the main buildings. Ash still couldn't shake that the place felt much more like an office park than a place where people actually lived.

It was actually cold inside, or it felt that way compared to the late July heat outside. They were experiencing one of the hottest summers in memory. May thought that was slightly odd since only a couple days ago it was very cool and rainy. The icy sensation was heightened by the fact they had already broken out in a sweat walking the distance from their car to the manager's suite.

The interior was not quite as converted as they expected. The ceiling was still open framework, though the metal braces had been painted white, which, along with the light streaming in from the large windows, made the interior quite nice. The mixture of the new and the old was actually quite pleasant.

Nobody was at the single wooden desk in the lobby. There was a window much like one would find in a high-security bank branch nearby, most likely where some of the poorer tenants would come to pay. The complex was classified as public housing, so it was clear some would probably be paying in cash. To keep thing simple, they had already made arrangements with Ash's mother to pay for the entire year in advance out of Ash's trust, freeing them from worrying about the rent. Even at what they were asking for the space, if it weren't furnished, they were going to be spending quite a bit on furniture and appliances.

"Hello?" Ash looked for an old-fashioned bell on the desk, then peeked inside the window.

"Maybe we should have called first." May suggested, still looking around at the interior.

"Can I help you?" A small man with a neatly trimmed mustache walked around the corner, grinning at the young couple. He was dressed in what might be considered the standard uniform of a used car salesman. He went right up to Ash, smoothly shaking his hand, while offering a flat box with the other. "Doughnut?"

Ash automatically reached for one of the sprinkle encrusted treats, stopping when May glared at him. They had already had a large breakfast and she was starting to get on her high Horsea about what he ate again.

"My name is William Gruber. I'm the manager of Mossdeep Mills. Do I take it the two of you are looking for an apartment? We have several lovely units available for immediate lease."

May took her turn shaking the man's hand.

"Hey, don't I know you from somewhere?"

He smiled right back at her. "Oh, I am sure I would remember somebody as lovely as you. Please, let's go look at the model."

She was ready for that. They had already seen a dozen places and the first thing the manager wanted to show them was the model. Then when it came to the actual unit, the only thing that looked the same was some fresh paint.

"Actually, I would just as soon see the units themselves, if you don't mind." May commented.

"Ah, a discriminating customer. Of course, if you two would follow me."

He led them out a back door, selecting a couple sets of keys on his way. The first unit he took them to was on the first floor. In order to achieve the high-ceilings, it was built halfway underground, causing all the windows to be set somewhat higher in the walls. They lasted about five minutes in there before both of them were turning up their noses at the prospect.

The next one he took them to was on the second floor. Just as they feared, it was mostly unfurnished, save for a small built in oven/range and a decent sized refrigerator. The rest of the space looked much like the studio apartment they looked at before. The walls were partially raw brick, partially clean white sheetrock, with the tang of fresh paint still hanging in the air. It was partitioned off, rather than having completely separate rooms, though the bedroom itself was set back from the large windows along one wall, affording them proper privacy.

May was enthralled by the small kitchen. There was just enough space for her to do her magic, and the appliances met with her approval.

"Oooo, shiny." Ash commented, running his hands on the brushed stainless steel doors.

"It's awfully open." May said pacing the length of the main space.

"I'm sure once your furniture arrives it will look much nicer." Gruber said, stepping off a space where a couch could sit. There was even a free-standing fireplace, as well as a large, open wall where an entertainment center could be set up.

Ash looked May in the eyes. She could tell he was already sold on it, though she was still concerned about having virtually the whole home open to the one large room. The bathroom wasn't much different than what they were used to in her house, but it did have the double sink they were looking for.

Biting her lower lip, she considered it. The price was right, they were willing to lease the place for one year and it did not matter May was still only nineteen.

"Excuse us." She led Ash out into the hallway and closed the door.

Taking both his hands, she asked. "What do you think?"

"This place is awesome! I know it's really open for your tastes, but it's only for a year. It's nicer than anything else we've seen this close to your parents, and think about it, we could move some furniture around and have enough room to do our workouts. It'd be far better than the garage at home."

"Okay, baby. You said it's my call, but in reality it's not. It's your money we're going to be spending."

"May, there's no such thing as just my money. You were sitting right with me when I started my Frontier journey, so you'd be entitled to it even if we weren't together."

"Ashy, that's sweet, but it's still legally your money."

"I don't care for legal, you know that. Listen, May, if you don't like the place…"

She put a finger on his lips.

"I like it a lot, because I see how much you like it. I say yes."

"You really think so?"

"Yes. They take small pets, so Pikachu's good. The only thing we don't have is that big tub we had our hearts set on, but you've already got the architect putting one in at our house."

"Yeah. Actually, that was already his plan anyway. That's just the way they build them for a home that size. Okay, let's do it."

* * *

It took about a week to wrap everything up, and even then it took most of the day for them to get their meager belongings moved into the space. The worst of it was their furniture. With the money they saved on the space they put in an order for a nice bedroom suite, but it was going to take a few days longer for it to be delivered from the plant in Almia, so their first night in their new home was going to be spent sleeping on a futon they picked up at a local furniture store. When their new furnishings arrived, it would be converted into a sofa, but for the moment, it was their bed.

May fixed them a candlelight dinner, complete with a bottle of wine her father had given them as a housewarming gift. The 'table' was actually one of the larger moving boxes and the 'chairs' were borrowed from May's house until their own furniture could come, but she made the best of it, using a white bed sheet folded in half as a table cloth and using some brand new china she picked up along with their first decent load of groceries. The wine glasses were plastic.

"To our first night together in our new home." May said, holding up her 'glass.'

Ash responded in kind, but the click was completely obliterated by the sound of a low flying propeller driven airplane passing directly overhead. They could see the landing lights as it dropped beyond the tree-line.

"Oh no." May moaned, setting her wine down and burying her face in her hands.

Ash jumped up, running toward the window. "Was it going down?" he was clearly frantic, worried about the passengers on the small plane.

She looked up at him frowning.

"They're okay. I was saying 'oh no' because I just remembered something. There's a small airport about a half mile away from here. I've used it a couple times when you were in Valencia completing your training."

Ash pursed his lips.

"Well, it can't be too bad. We've been here half the day and that's the first plane that's gone over."

She closed her eyes for a second, collecting her thoughts.

"I guess you're right. It's not like we're out by the big airport, with jets flying over every five minutes."

Taking his 'seat', Ash took a sip of his wine and dug into May's latest creation.

"Mmm, this is great! What is it?"

"Well, I pretty much followed a standard recipe for Golduck A L'Orange…"

"Golduck?" He asked, dubiously, staring at his plate as if it had just turned into something he had cooked.

"I know, I know, you don't like the thought of eating Golduck. It's actually better grade chicken, with the same sauce."

"Whew." Ash took another bite.

May frowned slightly. Something was tickling the back of her mind, diverting her attention from their delicious fare.

"Ash, you remember that guy who showed us this place the first day?"

"Yeah. Real slick dude there. Really don't think I could trust him as far as I could throw him."

"Heh. That little guy, I think you could throw him pretty far. No, well, yeah, he did seem a little slimy, but I could swear we've seen him somewhere before. What did he say his name was?"

"William something. I can dig up the copy of our lease, it'll be on there."

"No, that's fine. Sit down and finish your dinner." She grinned across the 'table' as he did so. She had a certain 'christening' ceremony for their new digs later that night, one that involved the shiny black silk nightie Ash bought her that weekend her parents went away. The cable company would not be out until the next day and they hadn't yet put their entertainment center together, so their amusements that evening would be with each other, and she wouldn't have it any other way. Ash had all of the coming year to crash in front of their television. She wanted him all that night.

She opened her mouth to coo sweet nothings at him, but instead of her own voice, a piercing wail thundered through the apartment, followed by a crashing and thumping sound. At first she thought something terrible was going on, but quickly realized it was music, coming presumably from the apartment next door.

"Oh boy." Ash put his fork down, staring at the wall. Or at least that's what May thought he said. She couldn't hear him over the driving beat. She wasn't even sure if the music was recorded, or somebody was practicing with a garage band, with all the amplifiers turned to eleven.

_Most songs go from three to five minutes. It'll be over soon_, she told herself as they finished their dinner without speaking. There really was no point to trying. They would have to shout just about everything to be heard. The worst part was that May knew the law. There wasn't a thing they could do about the pounding, poor quality music until eleven that night, and it wasn't quite nine.

_It must be somebody trying to sing_, she finally decided, glaring at the wall with enough intensity that the offending crooner should have been able to feel it right through the opaque, but surprisingly thin wall.

Wiping her lips, she got up. She had to cup her hands to shout at Ash.

"I'm going to take a bath!"

"You're going to sail a raft?" He repeated back in confusion.

May rolled her eyes and pantomimed scrubbing her sides. He nodded his understanding and set about cleaning up their dinner.

At least there was a little relief from the wailing and pounding, since the bathroom was on the opposite side of the apartment. She closed the door, cutting out all but the pounding bass beat that actually made the windows vibrate. She was most definitely going to have to talk to her neighbors the next day. Maybe it was just a party. It was Saturday night, after all. Something like that once in a while was fine, though if it went on too long it was going to spoil part of her plans that evening. She was going to use their two portable DVD players to play soft, romantic music, and light some candles around their temporary bed. Then they would set about making their new place a home, just for the two of them.

She stripped out of the light summer dress she had worn for their dinner and started the water. Of course, it would have been fun to take her shower with Ash, but she wanted to be extra clean for him, and to make her grand appearance dressed in nothing but that clingy bit of silk. Sure, he had seen her in it several times, but just like her older red one, he never got tired of seeing her in it, or out of it for that matter. The true test of that kind of nightwear was how short a time it was actually worn, though technically it didn't have to come all the way off.

Putting her hand under the water she frowned. The hot was all the way up, but it was still lukewarm. Maybe Ash was busy doing the dishes, pulling some of the hot water away. Normally she liked it almost scalding, even in the heat of summer, but it was enough to get by with.

Halfway through the bath, the water changed from lukewarm to room temperature. Growling slightly, she rinsed the last of the suds off and got out. A cold shower was definitely not what she wanted that evening. At least she was able to get clean. She made a mental note to make her sweetie wait until after she was done to do dishes in the future.

May toweled her hair dry as much as she could, then got out her hairdryer. Year of being a 'towel off' kind of girl had gone out the window when she decided to let her hair grow out. That worked fine when it came between her shoulder blades, but now that it was down around the small of her back, it took forever to air dry. Plugging it into the outlet, she started gently drying it, brushing it as she went…

…until everything went black.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust. The circuit breakers had popped off and she wasn't even using the dryer on its high setting. Growling anew, she fumbled for a towel and wrapped it around her.

There was enough light coming from outside to see the stacked boxes in the apartment, at least vaguely.

"Ash? Where are you?"

"I'm looking for the fuse box."

She mentally cursed herself for not thinking to ask where it was. Working up a good snit, she started back toward the bathroom, brushing up against the box they had just used for dinner. That was just enough to make her lightly wrapped towel drop to the floor.

"Got it!" Ash proclaimed happily, as the lights popped back on.

May blinked once, then twice. She was standing in the middle of the room, right in front of all the large windows, windows they had not yet put any kind of treatments on. There were enough lights on in the flat so that every bit of her body was fully illuminated, for all the world to see through those crystal clear portals.

Turning as red as the bricks the building was made of, she grabbed the towel from the floor and hastily made it back into the bathroom. This was so not turning out like she thought their first night in their own place was going to.

Trying to make the best of it, she stood in the bathroom door as Ash sat down on the futon, taking off his shoes. The pounding music was still going on, though the singer, who obviously didn't have the talent to even be mocked on _American Idol_, had stopped for the moment. May stretched out a leg seductively.

"Why don't you put on my favorite suit?"

"What's that, May? The silk jammies?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of the one you got on your birthday." She grinned.

He was confused for a moment. The year before she had gotten him a new video game console, the one that finally replaced the venerable Nintendo64. Then he put two and two together.

"Oh, Birthday suit! Sure thing May."

Smiling she ducked back into the bathroom and finished brushing out her hair, leaving it just slightly damp, lest she trip the breakers again. Then she spritzed her body with some of her favorite lavender spray, knowing the smell of her freshly cleaned body combined with it would drive Ash utterly wild. Wild was how she wanted him that evening.

Finally, she slipped into the black silk. The straps were almost invisible, and the bottom only barely long enough to cover her, with slits up both sides so he could see the shape of her upper thighs. It was one of the raciest things she had ever worn, even though absolutely nothing was actually visible.

The lights were already off and about half a dozen candles were lit. Somebody was still banging a drum-set and plucking a bass guitar in the other apartment, but it wasn't quite so bad by that point. Slipping under the satin comforter with him, she wrapped one arm around his, kissing his chin, then his lips.

"Welcome home, baby." She whispered as his hands scrunched up the bottom of her nightie.

That's when she heard what sounded like a woman's voice go "Oh!" She didn't think much of it, until it was repeated, then again, and again.

May sat up in their bed, realizing that just on the other side of the wall that formed the back of their bedroom, there was another couple, already engaged in their evening activities. Her hands went up to her mouth in horror as she realized just how thin the wall actually was.

Ash looked at her in the candlelight, his own ardor vanishing completely as a light thumping started. They both guessed it was a bed hitting the wall. Shaking his head, he turned on a lamp and proceeded to extinguish the candles.

May figured out what he was doing right off the bat. She got up and helped him, pulling the futon away from the wall, all the way to where the funnel fireplace sat. It was way too warm, even with the AC on to use it, but at least they were away from the amorous couple in the other adjacent apartment.

Then, miraculously, the music stopped. Only, they were once again able to hear the very loud sounds of romance coming from the other direction. Then another airplane flew over, apparently missing the building by mere inches, or at least it sounded that way.

May crawled under the cover, lying on her stomach and putting one of her pillows over her head. Any thoughts of making love with Ash had gone out the window along with part of her sanity. "This is not happening…this is not happening…this is not happening" She repeated over and over as Ash pounded his forehead on a section of brick wall while Pikachu yanked on his ears in a corner.


	5. Chapter 5

May's eyes fluttered open. It was still dark outside, but at least the apartment was finally quiet. The moon was high in the early morning sky, bathing the whole place in its pale silver glow. She slid out from under the comforter they were sleeping under and went to the windows, carefully making sure her short sleepwear was all the way down, just in case there was someone outside. She wondered what time it actually was, but they had yet to unpack any clocks, and her watch was still sitting on the bathroom counter where she had taken it off earlier.

Ash was sleeping soundly on his back. She shook her head and smiled softly, watching him sleep in the moonlight. The comforter was pushed down low on his waist and he had his arms behind his head. He looked so beautiful like that, sleeping pretty much on the floor. She had to admit there was something nice about the futon. It was just soft enough as a cushion, while the hardness of the polished wood floor offered surprisingly comfortable support. In the peace of the very early morning, their new place certainly seemed much nicer than it had earlier. Maybe they could come to like the place. In the morning they could ride over to the home center and pick up some nice blinds and other window treatments, improving their privacy. Something else could be done with the space that was ostensibly supposed to be the bedroom. With some blinds up, she wouldn't feel so self-conscious about the windows and their sleeping space could be put somewhere else, perhaps right where they were. The thought of having their bed out in the open like that was a bit strange, but with some creative furnishing, it would be quite nice. Perhaps they could pick up some screens like she used for dressing in her old room, and the bed nook would be a good place to set up their computer center.

She looked back out the window. There were no other units facing theirs, and the wall was about three feet above the floor, effectively putting their bed below the view of anyone outside. Smiling, she padded back over and slipped under the covers. Ash barely stirred as she pulled them up over her. Scooting up next to him, she threw one arm over his chest and buried her head in the nook between his head and his shoulder. He responded in his sleep by wrapping one arm around her and putting his other hand on her bare arm.

"Mmmm. May? Is it morning?" His eyes never opened, but he started stroking the soft skin of her upper arm.

"Not yet. Go back to sleep, honey."

He turned partially onto his side, facing her.

"Guess I'm awake now." He twisted a bit so he could work the light on his LED watch. Even though he wasn't wearing anything else, he rarely took his off except to bathe.

"What time is it?"

"A little after four." He let his arms back down, wrapping them partially around her. Even in the dim light she could see his frown. "This isn't what we wanted, is it?" he asked, seeing the same expression mirrored on her normally pretty features.

She tried to smile.

"It's gonna be okay. We just have to get used to living with other people." She tried to sound confident. Even though they had moved in only the day before, the lease was signed the day after they first looked at the place, and the short grace period had expired. They were locked into it and would have to make the best of it.

"I'm sorry, May. I guess we jumped at this too fast. At least we know why the place was so cheap. I was thinking maybe it was rent-controlled since it was designated public housing."

"I looked into that. We don't qualify, so we had to pay the going rate. Guess they were having trouble keeping tenants or something."

"I wonder why." He responded sarcastically. "We even going to bother unpacking?"

May rolled flat on her back. "Guess we have to. They've got our money and we're under contract. What else can we do? Tuck our tails between our legs and go running back to Mommy…either one?"

"If it's going to be like this every night? Will we have a choice?"

She snuggled back up to him. "I'm not going to do that. Now that it's quiet, it's not so bad."

Ash pulled her closer, drawing the covers up over them. He was very tender and gentle with her. It wasn't how they planned it to be, but like May was saying, they had to make the best of it. Both of them quickly fell into a deep slumber afterwards, curled up in each other's arms.

It was well into morning when May finally awakened, only it wasn't as bright out as she expected it to be. Rain was pelting the tall windows and she half-expected to have a leak start right on her face. Surprisingly, the place actually wasn't leaking, at least as far as she could see for the moment.

She reached to her right, but found herself alone in the temporary bed. That was when she realized it wasn't only the sound of pouring rain she heard on the metal roof. Ash was already up, taking the shower he missed the night before. She looked around and located her nightie and shrugged into it, still being a little self-conscious of the large windows.

There was steam pouring from the open bathroom door, so at least his shower was hot. "Morning, baby. Want some company in there?"

"Yeah, but you're gonna have to make it quick. The water's nowhere near as hot as when I started, and I haven't been in here that long."

True to his word, she barely had enough time to lather up and rinse before it had gone merely lukewarm. She noted the hairdryer still sitting on the counter and was glad she had not washed her hair again, at least until they could get some better breakers, or at least figure out which lights were on the same circuit. She was definitely going to get her hair cut once they got settled.

After getting dressed, they set about unpacking their things. It was getting close to lunch time when they finished, though the place still looked almost completely empty. Max would be by later on to set up their computer, though until the cable connection was activated (the place was already wired for it) they were going to have to rely on the wireless cards in their communicators to actually hook it up. Ash pointed out that they were indeed quite spoiled by having things like monster water heaters and dedicated T1 lines in her old house. If they wanted long, hot, steamy showers (or any of their 'good clean fun') they were either going to have to go back to her old house or wait a year.

All the while the rain just kept pouring down, doing nothing to help their mood. May stood at the window, looking at the gray skies. The storms were rolling down out of the foothills in waves, though it never let completely up between downpours.

Ash came up behind her and put his hands on her upper arms, giving them a light squeeze. "Think we should ride over to your house and borrow the mini-van so we can hit _Builder's Depot_?"

May shrugged slightly.

"I'm a little leery of heading home right now." Home. She still called it that. One night did nothing to erase what she still thought of as the one and only place she had ever lived. Ash certainly felt the same way. He barely remembered the condo his mother had lived in before they moved to Pallet Town when he was a toddler. What made things worse was that the place was really only temporary. A year did seem like a long time, but that would be gone in an instant. At least she could look forward to the place they were having built. It was designed from the get-go as a fully modern, soundproofed domicile, with all the comforts they desired custom built for them.

She had to reconcile herself to the thought that even that would not seem like home for a while. Moving was just something she had never seriously considered when she started sharing her life with Ash. They had gone forward with blinders on, their relationship being the one and only thing they could see. It was such a strange thought that what had been her room for all that time really no longer was hers. Max had moved in a couple months earlier after his last journey and was already asking if he could move from his old room into the loft. He had always wanted to stay in May's room, even after their parents had remodeled his room to fit what were then his standards for a "cool" trainer's room while he was living there as a young boy. It was looking more and more like they could never go back.

Ash left her and went back to his current project. He sat down heavily on the puffy blue chair that used to sit in May's old room, trying to make heads or tails of the vacuum cleaner they bought a couple days earlier. True, they didn't have any carpets yet, but among the things they wanted to buy were some rugs, so the appliance was a must.

May smiled, leaning over his shoulder as he poured over the instructions. It was a canister model rather than an upright like her mother used. Ash actually insisted, after the salesman pointed out that the canisters were actually more powerful. May thought it was just a line of bull, but the hose attachments would be handy for keeping dust down in all the little nooks and crannies of the place.

"Here, Ash. It goes together like this." She picked it up, shoved the bag into place and snapped it shut. "See, nothing to it."

"If they didn't have to write the instructions in fifteen different languages, and hire a baby to do the drawings, I bet I could do it too. Hey, how did you know how to do that anyway? I don't remember you even so much as touching your Mom's vacuum."

She shrugged, fiddling with the power attachments. "Just something I remember from our many fiascos over our journeys with Team Rocket."

"Huh. I thought that vacu-thingie of theirs was supposed to be a model of a weather machine, not a real vacuum cleaner."

"Wait." She looked at the canister sitting on the floor. Ash hadn't connected the hose to it yet.

"You're not thinking this rain is another weather machine, are you? They were calling for it to be sunny today."

"No, Ash. Remember when I said the sales manager looked familiar?"

"Uh, yeah. He kinda looked like a cliché used car salesman, though the only guy I've ever dealt with on a used car lot looked a lot more like Mr. Stone than anyone else."

"Not used cars, Ash. William Gruber, that's what he said his name was. Oh, why didn't I see it then!"

"What? Don't tell me you've been looking for a car for me again, cause I've had my eye on an old Trans Am that would look real nice if it was restored."

"No, not used cars. Used Weather Machines."

By that point Ash was really confused. "Why would you want me to buy a weather machine? They got banned after that newscaster Rhonda used one to create that snow storm in Sinnoh."

"Gaaaahhh! Ash, William Gruber is Wacky Willie. Wacky Willie's Weather Machines. The Magikarp salesman, remember? He was lying when he said he'd never seen us before. He's the con man who's always selling pokémon and tricking Team Rocket into buying them. He's the one who called us when Team Rocket stole that weather machine from him."

He perked up a little. "Oh, cool. Glad he found some other work when his lot got shut down. Kinda funny him landing back here in Hoenn. Don't think he can trick Team Rocket again, though. They do have _some_ intelligence."

"Don't you get it, Ash? They brought him in because he's a real slickster. That's why it took so long for the place to get ready. The law says there's a three day grace period, but it goes from the day we sign the lease, not the day we move in. He stalled us so we'd be trapped in a lease. Grrrrrrrr." She grabbed the instruction booklet and tore it in half before stomping off toward the kitchen.

"I've got half a mind to call Daddy's lawyer and see if we can get out of this mess. I'm willing to bet there are rules that apply in this instance. He misrepresented the place! Nobody mentioned there would be a bunch of grunge-rock rejects playing half the night, or a couple banging away like they were shooting a porno movie on the other side. Or that we don't even have enough hot water to take a proper shower, or…"

"May, baby. Like you said, it's not so bad. Think what it would have been like if we were living with your parents. They have to deal with all the same stuff, and your room doesn't have a quarter of the space we do."

"Yeah? Well…they don't have a wall that's nothing but floor to ceiling windows, so they're not on display for the world to see? I know I don't like the thought of walking around in our all-together all the time, but there are sometimes I'd like some privacy."

"May, did you stop to think, if that couple had waited a few minutes, we would probably be making a lot of the same noises? Maybe even louder?"

"But I don't want to hear them, and I don't want other people hearing us!" She screamed, slamming a bag of bread down on the counter. "I don't want to have to live with our bed out in the middle of what was supposed to be our living room. How long before the tabloids find out we got our own apartment and they start putting the paparazzi up in the hills with telephoto lens, prying on the two of us doing what we think is private?"

Ash got up, holding his hands out in front of him. "Calm down, May. Neither of us got as much sleep as we should last night."

"No? I guess not. But how long is it going to be before one of those planes actually clips the roof here? What are they doing landing there at all hours of the night anyway? Maybe I need to call Tate and Liza and run an FAA check on them."

"Whoa, May, amp down there. For all we know that was just some private pilot types getting in late from joyriding. It was only two planes."

"Two planes, a rock band, mister bangs-a lot, a cold shower when I really didn't want a cold shower and on top of that it's freaking raining again." She sat down on the kitchen stool, hanging her head sadly, spent by her outburst.

Ash wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "May, remember what we were thinking when we went on that first long trip together, right after you turned seventeen?"

She rested her head on his upper arm, putting her hands on his forearm. "If you're talking about the first time we…"

"Not so much the shower. We wanted to get out and be normal people for a while. We wanted to live like the rest do. We wanted to live like we used to. There's other people who live here, and from the looks of things some of them have been here since they opened this place a few years ago. Face it, babe. This is how regular people live. This is how we used to live."

May felt like the tears would start any moment. This wasn't what she had planned for her life. It always seemed things would go on and on just as they had been all her years. She would always have her comfortable little room, in a nice house, surrounded by a family that loved her. Now she was stuck in a place, living with people she had not yet met, people she wasn't sure she wanted to meet. For instance, how was she going to be able to look that one set of neighbors in the eye after last night?

"We shouldn't have unpacked." She said finally, gripping his arm a little tighter.

"Don't think we're going to stay?"

She shook her head sadly and leaned back into him a little more. "I don't know. If we hadn't unpacked maybe I could call a lawyer and we could get out of this lease. I don't want to go running back home, but this is wrong, so undeniably wrong."

"You want me to call your dad? It really won't take us that long to get the stuff boxed back up."

"No…no, I don't know what I want to do. I guess I just had this little fantasy that this was going to be, I dunno, like some little secret love nest for us. That was the whole point, wasn't it? For us to be together without bumping up against our family all the time?"

Ash put his hands on her shoulders and rubbed. "I dunno, that was pretty nice this morning."

"Yeah. But it felt, I dunno, kinda like when we're at your mom's place, being all sneaky quiet about it?"

He walked around in front of her, taking her chin in one hand and kissing her. When their lips parted, her eyes remained closed.

"May, it was more than pretty nice. It was extreme beawesomeness. I don't care about the quiet, all I care about is being with you. This is our home, and last night we made it that way. But if you really want, we could pack up our things and call someone to get us out of this mess."

"I wanna move out only if you really wanna move out as well, Ash."

"Somehow, I don't think we're going to bother those people next door, if you know what I mean. But I'm only happy if you're happy. If you wanna go, we'll go. We'll pack up our things and go."

Crossing her legs, she leaned in closer towards Ash. "I'll call Daddy lawyer in a few hours. See if Mr. Brady can help us out."

Ash chuckled slightly. "You don't need to call an attorney, May. I know someone who can get us out of our lease."

"Really? Who?" She sat back and looked up at him.

Ash's grin widened. "My Mom."

May's eyebrows shot up. "Your mom? Ash how is Delia…"

"Do you trust me?"

She blinked. "What?"

"Do you trust me?"

She kissed him lightly on the lips. "With every fiber of my being."

"Then let her handle this. If I know one thing, it's that everyone can be two-faced. Even though my Mom may seem sweet, believe me, that's only one side of her."

Without another word, May hopped up from the stool and went back to their still-unmade futon, grabbing the edge of it and hauling it once more back into the sleeping alcove. Then she went back into the kitchen and wrapped her arms around Ash's waist, kissing him again.

"You know, I'm still not that good about understanding girls, but I think I'm getting some signals here." He said, letting his hands slip down from her waist.

"Ash, if I was giving you any louder signals, they'd hear them over at the trainer school." She took his hands and started leading him to the bedroom. Getting out a box of matches, she started lighting the candles once more.

"Let's make some noise." She said as she pulled him down onto the futon.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I know its been a few weeks since I last updated this, but I've been multitasking between fics and well...its a long story, but I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Happy Holidays!

* * *

By the close of business Wednesday evening, Delia Ketchum was able to break Ash and May out of their lease. The first thing she did was read their lease very carefully to see if she could discover any loopholes within the contract. After finding nothing very significant, she had called a meeting with the sales manager to discuss the conditions that made the rental uninhabitable for Ash and May. She tried to explain to him that their reason for breaking the lease was reasonable under the circumstances they were presented with on their first night. The man was less than willing to make concessions for them.

That's when Delia took it upon herself to report how Mr. Gruber misrepresented Mossdeep Mills, only to find out that this man was just as May had said earlier: a con. He had a record of capturing weak, tired, pokémon that often couldn't protect themselves, and disguising them as a different pokémon, and then selling them as a profit to young and naïve trainers (and James). His record also included a failed weather machine and an evolution machine that was supposed to force pokémon to evolve before they were ready to. Officer Jenny had been on Gruber's case for years but had never been able to apprehend the salesman because she was too busy combating drugs and thugs and other criminals to be concerned with scammers or other types of fraud such as this conman. But by the end of the day, Ash and May were free of their lease, and Mr. Gruber was behind bars where he couldn't con another child (or James) ever again.

Delia sat down on her living room couch, fixing an emblem that was tearing off of one of her son's old jeans. Even after all the day's events, she hadn't forgotten that Ash had asked her if she could fix the Squirtle Patch that she had sewed on to his jeans when he was younger. That little patch still held a place in Ash's heart even after so many years. It could have the fact that, originally, the water-type pokémon was Ash's choice as a starter, or it could be the fact that it was the only one of his starter pokémon who had yet to evolve like the others aside from Pikachu. Either way, she was going to get this patch in one way or another. It was one of those things that reminded her that no matter how old he got, Ash was still her little boy.

"Hey Mom," Ash said entering the living room, "Thanks again for getting May and I out of that lease."

"Oh, it was nothing, dear. I was just doing what a mother is supposed to do: Take care of her child. That salesman is going to do a lot of paying for what he did. And to think, he was a wanted man for so many years. Humph. It's scammers like those that make the world what it is today: Less trusting and more expensive."

Running the needle through the last stitch, Delia sighed before looking proudly at her work. "All done. I wonder if you can still fit into these."

Ash took the denim jeans from his mother and folded it neatly before setting it on the chair. "Mom, you made these when I was eighteen. You really think I've changed so much in three years that I can't fit into an old pair of jeans?"

Delia smiled slightly. "I don't know, honey. May has been admiring your backside for quite some time now. Even I noticed how good it looked when you came back from Valencia."

"Mom!" Ash squeaked.

"Oh hush you. Can't a mother be proud her boy is finally turning into a man?" She giggled as she organized a few magazines that were lying on her coffee table. She was enjoying the chance to make Ash blush, which he was doing quite nicely. "This is why I think of your fiancée as a nice, honorary girl, Ashy. She knows what's really important. She's got to have a good man who is true, who is good to her and who has a really nice butt."

By that point Ash was shielding his eyes behind his hands, looking like he was about to crawl under the table. A woman discussing the shape and consistency of his gluteus maximus, especially her being his mother, was just a bit too much for him to take.

Delia couldn't help but smile at her son. "Oh, I'm only funning with you, dear."

Ash's hands slowly dropped to his sides, but his face was still visibly red. "Anyway, like I was saying earlier Mom, thank you for getting May and me out of that lease. If there's anything we can do…"

"Oh, sweetie, really it was nothing. All I ask for is your love, a cup of coffee here and there, and one…maybe six grandchildren."

Ash laughed heartily, the red in face now gone. "Well, I already love you, Mom. Let's start with the cup of coffee. _That_, I can make by myself." He said as he started into the kitchen.

Delia just watched him knowingly. The small smile that crept on her lips broadened slightly as she made her way to the closet."Mimey!"

Within seconds, the psychic-type pokémon known as Mr. Mime appeared out of the kitchen and into the living room. He had a broom in his right hand and was wearing a green apron that tied around his neck and waist.

"Mr. Mime?"

Taking a bottle of floor cleaner and two blue rags from the closet, Delia turned to face her little helper.

"Can you do me a little favor and put this Floor Shine on the hall floors upstairs? I have some work to do outside the house this afternoon and I don't think I'll be able to get all the floors done before the day is out. I'll do down here but I'd really appreciate it if you could clean the floors upstairs for me, please."

Mimey gave his companion a solid nod before handing her the broom, taking the Floor Shine, and making his way happily to the top of the stairs.

Humming quietly to herself, Delia placed the old-fashioned broom in the closet and took out a second bottle of Floor Shine before closing the door and making her way over to the bottom of the stairs. Pouring a small pool of thick, clear, waxy liquid on the hardwood floor, Delia took a white rag out of her pocket and began to slowly spread the liquid in a circular motion as far as her arm could reach.

* * *

May felt right at home in Delia's kitchen. This was actually the first time she was using her soon to be mother-in-law's kitchen to bake. She had been in that kitchen several times before when she and Ash had spent some nights over there, but if she was in the kitchen at all it was to get a glass of water or a snack. Never before had she used Delia's kitchen to cook.

She took a bag of flour from the cabinet and began measuring it out in a cup, using a knife to skim the heap of the top. She then walked over to the refrigerator and took out two large eggs and placed them on the cutting board she had the mixing bowl on. Taking the first egg in her hand, she lightly tapped it on the corner of the counter, breaking the shell ever so slightly. She then held the egg with both hands over the bowl and started pulling the shell apart. The contents dropped cleanly down into the bowl.

Now the second egg. She took a fork and hit it softly against the shell. The second egg yielded to her light tap and its contents joined the first in the mixture. Carefully, she added the rest of the ingredients and started stirring it with a single individual beater. Usually, she used the mechanical ones, but there was something about Delia's kitchen that made her feel retro.

Suddenly, the oven timer went off. Taking two oven mitts off the stove, May took out the freshly baked Snickerdoodle cookies out of the oven, before resting it on a wire rack to cool.

"PikaChu!"

May straightened up, turning around to see a bug-eyed Pikachu eyeing the cinnamon treats as if he were about to devour them right then and there. "No, Pikachu. These cookies are not for you."

Pikachu put his little paws to his mouth before letting out something between a groan and a sigh.

Picking up the little mouse and tickling him a little, May made her way back over to the counter. "Sorry my little Pikachu, but you can't eat them. But if you help me with the ones I'm making now, I can make you a special batch later on. How's that sound?"

Pikachu perked up slightly at hearing those words. "Chaa!"

"Okay. You can combine the topping ingredients for the batch I'm making right now."

"Pika!" Hopping on the counter, he gave May a salute before setting about making the sugary topping for the already sugar-filled cookies.

Smiling, May went over to the sink and began washing her hands. She then dried her hands and made her way over to the counter to finish mixing her cookie dough. That was when a pair of arms snaked around her waist. She was kissed ever so gently on her right cheek.

"You are the love of my life." Ash declared happily as rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I should hope so." She smiled as she felt his hands drop lower. "Be careful. Do you want Delia to come in here and see us like this?"

"That's not gonna stop me, May. If anything, my Mom will try to make us do more." To emphasize his point, his hands snaked even lower.

"You know, I am in the middle of something, mister. I don't need to be distracted."

Ash chucked. "I'm distracting you?"

"Yes. You are."

"Oooo! Cookie dough!" Ash said as he reached for the bowl that contained the mixture. May swatted it away. "Hey."

"That's not for you. It's for the kids at the center." She said as she began mixing the batter again.

"Trainers or patients?"

"Both. Delia and I are going down there to visit the kids in the hospital and later, to the Pokémon Training School. So you cannot touch my cookies."

"Which ones?"

"Both." She replied, perhaps a little too sharply.

Giving her waist a little squeeze, Ash let go and began making his way over to the cabinet. He took a jar of fresh-ground French Vanilla beans and filled the coffee filter.

"Did you thank Delia for getting us out of our lease?" May asked as she began to shape cookie dough into 1-inch balls.

Ash went over to the sink. He turned on the tap water and began filling up the coffeepot. "Oh yeah, I thanked her."

"And?"

"And she said it was no big deal. She said all she asked for in return is a cup of coffee now and again, which I am making now, my love, which she already has, and she also asked for few grandchildren."

May chuckled. "Can we get through the wedding first?"

Ash emptied the pot of water into the automatic coffee maker reservoir while May began rolling her dough balls in the cinnamon topping Pikachu had helped her prepare. "How many?"

"Six." He turned around and leaned on the counter.

May's mouth dropped. "Six? You've gotta be kidding me! Three I'll consider, four possibly, but six? You're saying she wants me to carry six different babies around for a full nine months and still…"

"Whoa May, calm down. Don't take this to heart. Mom just wants some grandkids to spoil. I'm sure when she said six, she didn't really mean six. It's just a random number that popped into her head, I'm sure."

He could tell she was still visibly upset, even as she went over to the stove and set the oven to bake at 400 degrees. "You know, May, even if we wanted to, I don't think we'd be able to produce six grandkids for our folks."

"Oh, believe me Ash, if we really wanted to, we could give them twelve grandkids." She took the baking sheet with her and placed it on the top layer of the oven rack. She then set the timer for twelve minutes.

The coffee was beginning to brew. Grabbing a dishcloth and wetting it, he began cleaning the counter where she was working. "You make it sound like it's so easy to conceive a child."

"It is."

"No it's not. Even without birth control, I don't think it's that easy. There's a lot of effort you need to put in to make a baby."

"Touché." She replied with a sly smile. She made her way over to the sink and began washing her hands.

"I'm serious, May. I mean, look at us."

"Ash, you don't wanna go there. Trust me."

"Seriously, though. Over the last few weeks since we started, we've had sex probably over fifteen times. And may I point out…"

"I told you, you didn't want to go there, Ash." May dried her hands before crossing her arms and giving Ash a mock-serious face.

"What?"

"Ash, it's no mistake that I did not end up pregnant after all of our playful evenings together."

"What are you talking about?" The fresh smell of French Vanilla coffee filled the kitchen with a heavenly aroma, reminding Ash that he was hungry.

"Ash, I take birth control."

Ash's eyes widened. He covered his mouth as he gasped and looked at her in alarm, "You do? When? Why?"

May cut her eyes. "What do you mean, why?"

"That why was following the when. But why are you taking…wait a minute is this something that's gonna gross me out?"

May's mouth opened. She was clearly offended. "Gross you out? Why would it gross you out?!"

"I don't know what goes on with you women, physically and emotionally, May. Some things I just can't handle as a man. But what you're talking about, I don't even know why I'm about to ask this…is it like…"

"It's a pill, Ash. I take the pills. I've been taking them since right before I was fourteen."

Ash put his hand to his forehead. His hand soon dropped to his mouth, then to his side. "I know I'm going to regret asking you this but if you were a virgin up until a few weeks ago, why were you taking the pills?"

"Mom put me on those for other reasons, Ash. For one, my cycle was all over the place because…"

"Okay! I'm done! I don't need to know anymore!" He nearly shouted as he took a man-sized mug out of the cabinet.

May smiled slightly. "No, you said you wanted to know."

"I don't anymore. I knew I was gonna regret it. I just knew it." He was mentally slapping himself in the head.

"Ash, there are other reasons. Besides my cycle…"

"Gah!"

"…I was starting to have skin problems. Mom also wanted me to be protected in case something…really bad happened on one of our journeys."

Ash was visibly shaking, which was why he hadn't yet made the move to pour the coffee into the mug for fear that he might burn himself. May slowly made her way over to her fiancé, kissing him ever sweetly on the cheek.

"If it makes you feel any better, baby, Dad doesn't even know. Mom and I feared he might misunderstand the reasons I was taking them."

Feeling less shaky, Ash poured half a cup of coffee into the mug. "May, promise me something."

"Anything, baby."

"When we do have kids, promise me you're gonna be the one handling all the feminine stuff with the girls."

She stepped back. "Feminine?"

"Look, I don't know what you call it but when you have those womanly issues you need to discuss or something, please promise me you'll take over from parenting."

May chuckled. "Ash, I'm gonna have to talk to them because I'm their mother. But that's not gonna exclude you from a doctor's visit when they have an appointment."

"Doctor's visit? What does an appointment with a doctor have to do with…" Then the gears started to click in place. His hand flew to his mouth once more as he began to feel nauseas. "May, I can't."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"Hearing you talk about your…your…you know…is one thing. Hearing my daughter and a doctor having a whole conversation about it is another level of wrong I don't want to think of crossing."

May smiled at him before kissing him softly on the lips. "Let's talk about this when we actually decide on having kids _after_ we're married."

"Agreed." He picked up the coffeepot and poured it into the mug. He gave her one final kiss on the cheek. "I've got a very crafty mother to give this to."

With that, he made his way out of the kitchen. May shook her head slowly. The timer on the oven sounded, indicating that the cookies she was baking were ready to cool.

Putting on her oven mitts, May started for the oven. She gasped when she saw Pikachu holding a Snickerdoodle cookie in one of his paws and a ketchup packet in his other. She glanced at the baking sheet that was on the cooling rack. Not a single cookie was on it. Looking back towards Pikachu, she saw that his mouth was stuffed and that a little bit of ketchup was flowing down off of his lower lip. "Pikachu!"

The little mouse quickly swallowed what he had in his mouth and began nervously apologizing for eating off all of the cookies she has prepared to take to the kids at the hospital.

Growling slightly, May went over to the kitchen counter and picked up her purse. She reached inside and took out two pokéballs, enlarging them, and then releasing the pokémon contained within them. The ice-type pokémon known as Glaceon and the fire-type known as Blaziken materialized in Delia's kitchen.

"Blaziken, you're with me. We have thirty minutes to prepare 32 homemade Snickerdoodle cookies for the kids at my soon to be mother-in-law's center. You think we can do it?"

"Blaziken!" The fire-type exclaimed.

"Okay. You make the toppings, I'll make the dough."

The Blaze pokémon started to get her needed materials from the cabinets. May then turned to Glaceon.

"Glaceon, keep an eye on Pikachu for me, please. He's not allowed back in this kitchen for the rest of the day."

The fox-like creature nodded her head in understanding. She began looking around the room. Seeing that Pikachu was not in there, she started out of the kitchen inside the living room. She found him sitting on Delia's couch nervously playing with his tiny fingers. He offered a weak wave once he saw her. Glaceon merely shook her head.

_Like trainer, like pokémon_.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I know it's been a while since I updated this but, here it is! I hope you enjoy! Also, I've made a few minor changes to Chapter 5 regarding Ash and May's banter. Nothing big but just something I thought I should let you know.

And now without any further ado, Chapter 7 everyone!

* * *

Hordes of peoples—some strolling, some shopping, others hurrying about their own personal business—were rudely brushing past Ash, irritating him, making him move out of each square foot of the sidewalk he claimed. He and Pikachu were out in North Petalburg because his beloved pokémon had gotten him banished from his mother's house after downing not only May's first batch of cookies, but the second and third batch she hurriedly made. And to add insult to injury, Pikachu blamed him for 'helping' him eat off the cinnamon treats when Ash himself was actually upstairs watching a wrestling match between two pokémon at a Fighting Dojo. Needless to say, he was confused by May's irate behavior, but after having time to clear his head, the gears began to click into place, and Ash became enrage with his pokémon. For several hours he wouldn't even speak to the little mouse. But his temper quickly wore off once he realized how crowded it was in town. If he stayed angry at Pikachu, he would most likely be angry at him all day, and he didn't want to hold a grudge against the little guy. After all, May could be a pretty scary person at times, especially when she got angry. He could understand Pikachu's fear. But he didn't have to bring him down with him. Did he?

Suddenly, Ash felt somebody roughly push past him once more, nearly knocking him to the ground. He was starting to get a touch grumpy. "Excuse you!" He shouted as the person sped on, Pikachu glaring at him too as he did so. Angrily, he sat down on the window ledge of a storefront. In a few minutes he was going to call May, just to make sure she was okay. If she was still mad, that was okay. He just wanted to see if she was out of the house. He actually had to go to Gary at the lab and ask him the favor of teleporting him to Hoenn with his Alakazam. He didn't wanna drive the whole eight hours it took to get there. Delia's house was really the only place he could stay at the moment. He didn't feel right living with May's parents without her there, especially after they moved out.

A little rumble from his stomach caused Ash to groan. He hadn't eaten anything since that morning. And with him out of the house, he'd have to fend for himself. His tongue stuck out at the thought of standing there, in his mother's kitchen, munching on one of the Snickerdoodle cookies May had made earlier. True, he hadn't eaten any of the cookies like Pikachu claimed, but he was tempted to. His hunger was really winning him over right now.

Another little rumble started in his belly. He put his hand to his growling stomach and sighed.

"Man, am I hungry." He said to himself as he stood up. Pikachu hopped over to his other shoulder. He was a little famished himself. Ash began scanning the many shops in the small town for food. His eyes went from booth to booth, weighing the deliciosity against the nutriciocity of the fare at each one, none of them really doing too well in his mind with the possible exception of simple stuff like hot dogs or corn dogs.

The lines didn't bode well either. This would be most people's lunch time, so there were lots of hungry folks lined up for some grub.

One line in particular caught his attention. It wasn't a food stand but more of a small clinic. A simple yellow and white rental tent, without the complicated, colorful banners of all the rest. There was a sign but it was obscured by the line and what a line it was. There were easily four times as many people in that line as any other vendor in the place.

Curious, he started for the rather small building, his feet moving of their own volition. The people in line were craning their heads, trying their best to see what was going on inside the tent. He tried looking inside as well, but the crowd was pressed in too tightly.

More out of curiosity than anything else, he went and stood at the back of the line. That's when he finally saw the small, elegantly printed sign proclaiming who that particular vendor was.

He stepped out of the line, grinning from ear to ear. It only took a heartbeat for his place to be filled in, but he had no intention of waiting in that line. It was slow going, but he made his way back up to the head of it, apologizing as he squeezed his way past the onlookers who had either already been through the line or simply wanted to gawk at the spectacle.

It took him a moment, but he recognized the three young women working on the tightly packed round tables inside the building. They were all his age or very slightly older and all three were quite attractive. That didn't bother him in the least, knowing why they were there. In fact, one of them had waited on him at date with May the previous Friday.

That only held his attention for a split second. His eyes immediately went to an elongated white table set up at the entrance of the small tent. A Furret was on top of it. A student nurse stood by, holding a clipboard in her hands. But it wasn't the girl that held his attention. It was the man in the white labcoat and green scrubs examining the small Normal-type that held Ash's gaze.

Brock broke out into a huge grin himself when he spotted Ash standing there. He removed the stethoscope from around his neck and handed it to his apprentice.

"Here, Wendy. Finish the job. Show this crowd everything I taught you." He whispered in her ear.

The brunette nodded her head weakly before taking the acoustic medical device to finish what her mentor had been showing her and all the other student nurses.

Brock stood straight up. "Now, if you good folks will excuse me for just a little bit, I'll leave the rest of this examination up to my trusty student Wendy."

He motioned for his other two students to join him at the table and observe what Wendy was doing.

"Go Brocko!" The crowd chanted a few times as he left the stand and gestured for Ash to follow him to a sitting area a few feet away from the tent. "Didn't expect to see you so soon, Ash."

"I didn't expect to see you working either. You have your own practice?" He said glancing at the large white building behind the tent.

"Well, I work as a part-time breeder here. I mentor students who are also interested in pokémon breeding. I was just showing them how to properly examine a pokémon and check their health using one of my student's Furret. It attracted a crowd and before I knew it, folks were chanting my name and cheering me on as I taught my students."

Ash smiled. "You have a fanbase, Brock! Kudos to you!"

Brock smiled slightly. "Yeah, well, enough about me. How are you and May? Did you check out the apartment listings I sent you?"

Ash's smile disappeared and he grimaced slightly. Pikachu hopped onto the table. "Don't remind me, Brock."

"Was it that bad?" He asked.

"Personally, I don't think so. But May crossed the place off after our first night."

"Why?"

Ash hesitated. "Well, let me put it to you this way: the walls weren't nearly as thick as they first appeared."

"What do you mean?"

"The walls were paper-thin, Brock."

"Ash, that still doesn't sound too bad."

Ash's frowned deepened. "Think, Brock. The walls were _paper_-thin. May and I found that out on our first day living there. And since it was the first night, you can imagine how May and I wanted to celebrate. Only, there was a couple already engaged in their 'evening activities'. And the walls are flimsy."

Brock winced. He was starting to get the picture. "So, you heard…"

"_Everything_."

Brock sighed. "I really don't know what else to tell to you, Ash. I mean, I was really banking on that apartment for you guys."

Ash shrugged. "Yeah, well, you know what can you do?"

"So, you're really moving back in with Delia?" Brock asked.

Ash mimicked his sigh. "I think so. I mean, we already moved out from May's folks. It'd seem too…I dunno…like we were imposing if we went back to live with them. And I know Mom's cool with us, but May already told me in no uncertain terms that she was not gonna live with Mom. So, I'm pretty much caught between a rock and hard place."

He gave another sigh before resting his head heavily on the balls of his hands. Pikachu hopped off that table onto Ash's left shoulder. Ash smiled slightly and began scratching Pikachu under his chin, making the electric pokémon purr in delight.

Brock put his hand to his chin and closed his eyes. After a few puzzling moments, he prepared himself to give Ash one more piece of advice that he thought might help him with his predicament.

"Well, Ash, there's not much I can say at this point but if you really want to avoid moving back in with your mother, I have one other solution."

Ash sat up. "You're gonna let May and me move in with you?"

"I may be a desperate man, Ash, but I'm not crazy."

Although he was somewhat insulted, he didn't show it. "I thought you said your door was always open to us?"

"And it is. But come on, Ash. You know you and May can be……affectionate at times. And I really don't need to hear that kind of romance in my house when I myself don't have an adequate love-life. I'm sure you can relate after the experience you and May just had, right?"

Ash shuddered. "Message received and understood, Brock."

Brock folded his hands. "Anyway, even though you and May are welcomed to stay with me, I have a better alternative. See, this old friend of my family's is moving into his new home in Ever Grande. His name is Jonathan Davidson. He's renting out his old house to help pay for the mortgage on his new home. I'm figuring you and May could be his tenants."

"Wait a second, Brock. You're telling me that this friend of yours, is renting out his home to folks who need a place to stay?"

"To help pay for his house and work. He entrusted Forrest and me to find him some good tenants."

Ash's head started to spin. "So, this is an actual house?"

"Yep. A three story, fully furnished home in Rustboro. He and his wife Rebecca lived in that house for about six years before they moved out. So it's still relatively new. I'm sure you and May could make adjustments to it that you see necessary."

Ash shook his head. "I don't believe this, Brock. This seems too good to be true. How come you didn't tell us about this the first time May and I talked to you about our situation?"

Brock shrugged. "I guess I didn't think I had to. It didn't seem relevant at the time."

They both stood. Ash extended his hand to his friend. "Man, I can't believe you're saving our butts again."

"Hey, what are friends for?" He said as they continued to shake hands.

"Brock, you're the best Best Man a guy could ever have."

"Excuse me, Brock," A young lady with long blue hair said as she ran up to the table, "We need you. Wendy just sprayed a potion in the Furret's eye. It's on a rampage."

Brock shook his head. "Oh, Wendy. Listen Ash, I gotta run."

"No problemo, Brock. You go on and do what you do."

Brock smiled and started back to the tent.

"Hey Brock," Ash called out.

"Yeah?" He said, turning back around.

"Lot of pretty girls here. Think one of them might be the one?"

Brock chuckled nervously. "No……they all have boyfriends."

Ash frowned. "Aww, Brock. I'm sorry."

Brock chuckled again. "No worries, Ash. God willing, I'll find Mrs. Right someday……hopefully."

"Brock, come on. We need you." His student called out to him.

Brock nodded. He turned back to Ash. "Call me when you and May are ready to meet with Jonathan so I can set up a meeting for you."

"Will do."

With another nod, Brock made his way back to his tent where a crowd anxiously awaited his return.

Ash smiled. He couldn't wait to tell May the news.

* * *

As soon as Harley opened his door, May pushed past him into the apartment, ignoring his cheery "Hey, hun" greeting.

He looked her up and down as she whirled around in his entrance foyer, started to say something, then change her mind, whirled around again and strutted off into the living room. He watched her flop down on his favorite wing chair and drop her shoulderbag onto the floor at her feet. Flipping his hand at her, he closed the door before going into the living room himself. Stepping right up to her, he stared down at her.

"You're in a lovely mood today, my dear," he said, bending and picking up her shoulderbag. He flung the long strap on top of his colorful, lavishly embroidered purple caftan. "Hard day?"

She rolled her eyes at him as he sashayed back and forth in front of her, modeling her shoulderbag.

"It works," he said. "It's unisex."

"Give me back my purse."

"Oh, now you want it back after you see how good it looks on me. Just like a woman," he said, dropping the bag onto her lap. "I'm going to get some lemonade. You want some?"

"No."

"Well, you need something to cool your hot tail down," he said, leaving the room.

Ignoring the remark, she opened up the flap of her bag and dug down into the side pocket until she found her emery board.

"Every time I go in that kitchen, I cringe," Harley said, coming back into the room. "Those old wooden cabinets have so much paint on them that the doors are as thick as a slab of cement.

"You say that every time I come here. Why don't you have them stripped and stained?"

"I would if that was all that was needed. I need new countertops; new appliances; a new floor."

"Then move."

"No, I like it here. I think I'll remodel the whole room."

"It's your choice," she said, flipping her hand backward.

"So tell me, hun, what's got your gluteus maximus up on your shoulders?" he asked, sitting his long-stem champagne glass of lemonade down on the coffee table before lounging on the sofa. He didn't drink anything harder than ginger ale, but he loved the classy look of champagne glasses and used them all the time.

May dropped her emery board inside her bag then sat it on the floor alongside her chair. "Oh, I'm so mad I could scream."

"I can see that. The question is, why?"

"The why is my dear fiancé."

"Do tell."

"He and Pikachu ate off all of the homemade cookies I made for the kids at the center this morning."

"What kind of cookies?"

May's left eyebrow arched slightly. "Should that even matter?"

"No, but you've got me interested in heading down to the shop to buy some freshly baked goods."

May rolled her eyes once more. "I had to remake and bake 32 Snickerdoodles within a thirty minute timeframe and…"

"You made Snickerdoodles?"

May cut her eyes at him.

"What? You know how crazy I am about sugary treats, especially cookies."

"The point I'm trying to make is that he shouldn't have eaten them. I had already told Ash and Pikachu too that those cookies were off-limits."

"Oh boy. Better sit up for this," Harley said, doing just that. Not the least bit amused, May squinted her eyes at him.

"Oh lighten up, it could have been worse. He could have cleaned you and your parents out of a house and home when you were still living with them."

"Joke if you want, Harley. But Ash is really pushing his luck this time."

"I don't know what you're so angry about. You knew that boy was a big kid when you met him. You knew he was a big kid when he proposed. So it shouldn't be a shock that he's still a big kid now."

Flabbergasted, she leaped to her feet. "Ash is not a big kid! He's grown considerably since we started dating and he's growing more and more every time I see him. He's the most mature, responsible, considerate, caring man I have ever met besides my father. We've been together long enough for me to know that, which is why I'm marrying him."

"Girl, sit down before you blast off and put a hole in my ceiling."

"I don't know why I even came over here," she said, snatching up her jacket," You think everything is funny."

"Now look," he said, sitting up and planting his hands on his thighs, "Don't go getting testy with me Miss May. I didn't do a thing to you. If you want me to act like I feel sorry for you, or act like my feelings are hurt, too, because of what lover-boy did to you, then maybe you best go home, because I'm not so bothered."

May huffed. She folded her arms. She cut her eyes away.

"You let yourself get too upset, May. You need to find a way to channel your negative energy— a hobby, exercise, music, something positive."

"That's why I came over here. You're good at calming me. And you know what? I feel just fine."

"Hey, I'm your friend, sweetie. You and Ash had this drama before. So, let's settle down so I can finish planning your wedding."

He directed her to his desk and pulled out a large black wedding planner's book. He sat down and went rummaging through the pages.

"So, have you two set a date yet?"

May took a seat across from him. "No. But it's definitely going to be next year in the springtime."

"Ooo, very nice." He said, making a couple notes under her name. "Is that all for the dates? No theme or anything yet?"

"No, I think that's it. We haven't really talked about it in so many terms."

"Alrighty." He said, standing up and closing the book. "Now, onto your make-up, Missy."

"I thought you hired a beautician?"

"Honey, I am your beautician." He said, sauntering himself to the other side of the room. "Now get your little tail up so I can fit you for your dress."

"I thought we weren't doing dresses today?"

"I want you to see them. I have far too many clients to keep track of every single dress you browse. We have a new line this year and let me tell you, the gowns are fabulous! You have to see them!"

May waved her hand nonchalantly. "I'm not doing dresses today. You said we were focusing on hair and makeup."

"My, you are stubborn." Harley pulled out a drawer from his cabinet "My stylist couldn't make it today. You'll have to browse my collection."

May got up and stood next to him. "Harley, I'm not putting on the same makeup you wear."

"Honey, please. I'm not giving you my _Clinique_ and _Covergirl_ to put on. You lost your mind? You're trying on the collection from last year."

May rolled her eyes.

"You best keep those eyes of yours inside that pretty little head before I make you look like Bobo the clown."

May gasped. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

May evened her gaze at him.

"Are you gonna behave and be a good little girl?"

"Don't patronize me, Harley."

"There you go getting all high and mighty again." Harley went rummaging through all the cosmetics in his drawer.

May shook her head. "Harley, please."

"What? Something else on your mind? You know how much I love hearing about you and your fabulous man." He said as he eyed one of his lipsticks in particular.

She smiled in spite of herself. "I'm not even going to tell you anything anymore."

"I don't care," he said, pretending to pout, "I'm not going to tell you about my man, either. So there."

"So there to you, too." She said, smiling and placing her hands on her hips.

"Let me see which one of these is your color." He poured the foundation onto the back of his hand, and then he lightly began brushing some of it on her left cheek. "Hmm. Sunset orange isn't really your color. Let me think. You're having a spring wedding, correct?"

"Right."

"So, you want something that will make your skin glow. Something that shines when the sun hits it. Let's try warm honey." Placing a small amount of foundation onto that same hand, he dipped the other side of the makeup sponge into it and began applying the foundation to May's right cheek.

"Oh my goodness!"

"What?" May said, clearly worried.

"That's it! I found your color! You are a smooth warm honey. You'll glow like a Volbeat's tail and shine like the sun on the fourth of July! Oh, I have got to make note of this! You are wearing this on your wedding day, honey. Guaranteed." He quickly made his way back over to his desk and took out his planner once more.

May shook her head. "You are such a drama queen."

"Puh-lease, May. I'm no more of a drama queen than you are when you're having a bad hair day."

"I guess that's why you're my hairstylist too, huh?" She said, taking a paper towel from Harley's desk and wiping the makeup off of her face.

"Naturally. When I said I was going to give you and your beau the best darn wedding in Hoenn's history, I meant it." He finished what he was writing and walked into the kitchen to wash the foundation off of his hands. He returned moments later with a towel. "Believe me, May you deserve the wedding of your dreams. Especially with a man like yours. You're one of the lucky ones to find a good man like Ash. Lord knows I haven't had one in years. That's why I kicked Oscar, the cheater, out. Remember him?"

"Vaguely."

He stretched his eyes in surprise. "How could you forget such a gorgeous man as Oscar? He was Adonis himself. Honey, you just don't know a hunk when you see one."

"Remember, sweetie, your idea of a hunk and my idea of a hunk are two different pokémon." She said as she took a seat back on his chair.

"Believe me when I tell you, a hunk is a hunk, no matter what his chosen profession."

"I'll have to take your word for it. Besides, I got my own hunk at home."

"You're still young yet, you'll learn. Anyway, do what makes you happy."

"Well, thank you very much," she said sarcastically. "I'm the one with the ring, remember?"

"Touché, love. I can only hope that fate blesses me with that same prospect. Who knows? In a few years, I may walk down the aisle with Wallace himself right there beside me."

May's chuckled. "Fat chance, Harley. He's married."

Harley's mouth dropped. "You're lying."

"No, I'm not. He's married."

"You're lying! To who? When?"

May straightened up when she realized he was serious. "Last year. He married Winona."

Harley started wringing his hands. "This is news to me."

"How could you not know about that? It was all over _Trainers_ magazine and everything."

Harley huffed. "Well, I don't care. Like I said earlier, I got me a man. I don't need Wallace or his flashy behind. Celebrity marriages never work anyway."

"Then the fact that he and Winona have a baby on the way shouldn't faze you in the least?"

He seemed to shift a bit but didn't seem bothered otherwise. Walking back towards the sofa, Harley picked up his empty champagne glass. "Glad to see you're not as irritable as you were when you first came in here. I believe you get yourself worked up because you're a sweet, sensitive, misunderstood soul."

Nodding in agreement, she said, "I think so."

"Poor misunderstood baby. You left the boy all alone, didn't you?"

She shrugged. "I'm letting him sweat a little bit."

"You did the right thing. Let him sweat and the making up will be that much more satisfying. I'm going for a refill. Can I get you anything?"

"Maybe a little ice water."

"No problemo, hun, " he said, walking off into the kitchen with a flourish of his caftan.

May smiled. Behind his apartment door, away from eyes of the world, Harley was probably more feminine than she was, if that was possible. He never exaggerated his mannerisms, he just came across as refined. Looking around, everything about his co-op apartment was refine, too. There was nothing masculine, dark, or bold about his eclectic selection of contemporary and traditional furniture. In low light, his ice blue walls trimmed in white wrapped the room in a cloak of mellowness. There was always a scent of gardenias in the air from the incense placed in strategic spots around the apartment. The ambiance was soft, soothing, and sophisticated. Very few people were privy to glimpse the real Harley Dawson. He lived a double life. He was a wedding planner and psychiatrist. At work and in public, no one would guess that he was gay. He stopped cross-dressing and dressing up like his beloved Cacturne about the same time she and Ash started dating. He started dressing conservatively which effectively camouflaged his refined mannerisms.

Interestingly, he said he never wanted to be a woman, but he felt that he had to let his feminine side breathe once in a while. He felt strongly that if men in general got in touch with their feminine side every now and then, they would not rape or abuse women. It was the macho attitude, he said, that caused men to harm women in the first place, which was probably true. Nonetheless, wouldn't his patients and clients love to get him on the couch?

How ironic was it that after so many years of hardship and fallouts, that they actually ended up becoming good friends? It was Harley that begged May to give him another chance after all those years of trying to destroy her career. She was reluctant at first, but gave in when she couldn't take Harley filling up the tape on her answering machine anymore. They talked while having dinner at one of Harley's favorite restaurants. In that little bit of time, May learned just how much Harley had changed. He had made quite a name for himself as a wedding planner. It was actually a life-long dream of his he wanted to pursue in addition to being a top coordinator. She couldn't believe the big names that came out of his mouth. He planned weddings for Bill and Bebe, Lanette and Celio, Spenser and Elita, and many more famous folks, which was one of the reasons she couldn't believe he hadn't heard about Wallace and Winona's wedding.

Even though May had come to accept Harley as a friend, Ash was still wary of him. He hadn't completely trusted Harley ever since he teamed up with Team Rocket to try to destroy her coordinating career. It didn't matter how many times May tried to get him to come around, Ash would not break. He kept saying that something deep in his bones didn't quite trust him yet. That was one of the reasons they didn't have meetings with Harley like you're supposed to have with a wedding planner. He told May he didn't want anything to do with Harley. He was her friend, not his. That was just fine with her. She enjoyed spending time with Harley. They became fast friends, calling each other constantly to gossip (though, it was mostly Harley doing the gossiping). He was indeed making up for lost time. She became his cover; his "date" whenever he had an affair to attend. Ash didn't seem bothered by it, and if he was, he never said anything. Harley took her to the best formal affairs, the best restaurants—they always had a ball. His colleagues thought she was his girlfriend. He got a big kick out of that.

"Oh, May, did I tell you that Walter and I are getting pretty serious? You have got to meet him. I think he's the one."

"That's what you said about Oscar two years ago." She said, taking the glass of water he handed her.

Going over to the wall unit, he turned on the stereo. A CD was already in deck. The soulful voice of Patti LaBelle filled the room.

"Oscar would still be the one if he didn't roam like a Tauros," he said speaking loudly. "I don't play that, AIDS is vicious. It shows no mercy. I like myself and life too much to play with a propane torch."

"Geez," she said, sticking a finger in her right ear. "Turn it down a little, will yah?"

"Oh, you're so boring," he said, popping his fingers, closing his eyes, and swaying to the music. "You have to play Miss Patti loud to feel the thrill. Don't you just love her?"

"I could love her even more if you turned her down a couple of decibels."

He turned the volume down. "Party pooper. Well, let's get started on your hair."

May firmly shook her head. "No way, Harley. I am so not walking down the aisle looking like Fabio's wife. I'm having this mane cut and trimmed. You can work on it then."

"How much you cutting loose?"

"To my shoulders at least."

Harley shook his head disapprovingly. "Come on, May. Try something new. You cut that hair; you're going to look the same way you did when you were ten."

"I resent that. I've matured quite a bit since my teen years."

"I don't mean physically, sweetie. You've matured quite well in that department. I'm talking about the face. The face is going to be the exact same as when you were traveling as a young naïve coordinator."

She didn't like being called naïve but she didn't let Harley know he hurt her. She instead, shrugged. "You've got hair stylists. You'll figure something out."

_Buzz!_

Harley pressed the Talk button after the intercom buzzer sounded. "Yes?"

"Mr. Dawson, you've got a phone call on Line 1."

"Thanks Brenda," he said, picking up the phone and pressing the button to his party line. "Harley Dawson's Royal Bride Weddings where brides truly feel like royalty on their special day. How can I be of service to you today?"

May smiled and crossed her legs as she listened to Harley converse with one of his clients.

"Oh, Marissa. Yes, have we finally set a date?…Okay let me get my pen…" He took out his planner book again and flipped through a few pages, stopping at one that was bookmarked in yellow.

"Alright darling, go ahead…uh-huh……yes and your dress will be here next week……the theme will be……okay, Island Princess, very nice……uh-huh and your next meeting is set two weeks from today……I have you scheduled for two o'clock……uh-huh……will that be all?……yes we do……yes we offer……okay……alright I will…….yeah, mhmm, see you then…okay bye-bye." He hung up the phone and began recording something in his planner's book before closing it and turning his attention back to May.

"Business is good, I see."

"Mhmm. Honey, don't think for once you're my only client. I have four other bride-to-be's in the wake, not to mention my psychiatry patients calling me up 24/7. I'm a very busy man, May."

"Are you?" She went searching through her purse for her cell phone. She felt it vibrating while Harley was talking with his other client but didn't feel the need to answer it until now.

"Voicemail?"

"Text message." She said, opening it up, "It's from Ash. He wants me to meet him right away. Says something about a house?"

"Oh, how nice. See, there's a silver lining in everything. You lovebirds may have somewhere to nest after all." He said as he crossed his legs.

May stood to her feet. "I think he's sweat enough. I'll catch up with you later, Harley."

"Alright, hun. And don't forget, you've got a meeting scheduled in a few days."

"No, I don't." She said, picking up her jacket.

Harley thumped himself on the head. "Oh, that's right. I forgot you have your own counselor. Very well, see you soon, May. Don't stay gone too long, I have to fit you for your dress."

He pressed the Talk button on the intercom with his finger and picked up the phone. "Brenda, get Marissa on Line 1 for me, please."

"Yes, Mr. Dawson."

May opened the door. "So, some other time Harley?"

He nonchalantly flicked his hand at her before speaking into the phone. "Yes, Marissa? Yes, this is Harley Dawson. Listen, I have an opening in five days for a meeting at four with you and Darrell if you're interested in moving the date up from next week?……Uh-huh at four……Okay great…Uh-huh, I have you all set…"

Smiling, May left the apartment in a much better mood than when she entered.


	8. Chapter 8

There was so much right, so much to take in that May's head was spinning from not only looking at the interior of the house, but at the beauty that surrounded her. Mr. Davidson's home was much nicer than she expected. In fact, it was one of the most beautiful homes she had ever seen. The outer and some of the inner walls were slightly old but authentically and tastefully renovated close to a meter thick, keeping heat in during the winter and out during the summer. The front door opened into a long, natural light-flooded entrance hall. It faced was a red carpeted staircase. The house had two large bedroom-bathroom suites, one downstairs and another upstairs. Since they had originally intended on sleeping upstairs, that was the first part of the house Mr. Davidson had showed them.

By the time they actually explored the bedroom Ash was already sold on it. It had a mahogany dresser, a cordless telephone, a walk-in closet, and a flat-screen television set. The adjoined full-bathroom had a wide mirror and was floored with marble tile. Along with the toilet, it had a walk-in shower and a marble-countered sink with storage cabinets and drawer. Ash was quite fond of the queen-sized _Tempurpedic_ bed while May loved the red lace-curtained windows. In fact, Ash was enthralled with the bed. Just looking at it made him want to take a wine glass, fill it with red wine, and jump up and down on it like a small child until he was told to stop.

Before they even reached back downstairs, Ash had already started for the other bedroom. Along with another queen-sized _Tempurpedic_ bed, it had a writing desk, two dressers, and three curtained windows shuttered from the outside to let in or keep out natural light. The adjoining, tommette-floored and windowed bathroom offered along with a toilet, twin mirrored pedestal sinks, a bath tub/shower, and a commodious chest of drawers.

After seeing both bedrooms and bathrooms, Ash was just about ready to pay Mr. Davison the first month's rent. But May still wanted to see the rest of the house, so they continued on with their tour. The next thing they were introduced to was the living room. It contained a matching cream-colored loveseat sofa and a queen sleeper sofa, which was facing yet another television set. There was both a pine and glass coffee table in the center of the room. Matching lamps were on a redwood table and a stereo system was to the far right of the loveseat sofa. There was also a fireplace and a lighted ceiling fan that was operated with a remote.

Satisfied, Ash was ready to make the deal, but May was still set on seeing the kitchen—she was blown away. The kitchen had what appeared to be a well polished smooth surface electric range with an oversized oven window, a dishwasher, a large ceramic/porcelain sink with a garbage disposal and faucet, a shiny black GE café microwave oven and a side by side refrigerator/freezer with an icemaker. May thought that the granite countertops complemented the cashmere slate floors and that the halogen flush mounts provided excellent lighting.

"Well, what do you kids think?" Mr. Davison asked as he pulled up his britches.

"It's everything we ever dreamed and more." Ash blurted out. He looked May in the eyes and gave her hand a good squeeze. She smiled but she still wasn't a hundred percent.

Mr. Davison smiled. "Glad you like it, son. I didn't quite know what to expect when ole Brocko phoned me up. I kinda like this 'ouse too. I had it fixed up couple months after me and Becca moved in. The folks that lived here fo' us were a nice elderly couple. The walls had a sorta classy, sophisticated look that I liked, so I kept them. All them TVs we met in here too. I didn't really want 'em after we moved out so they stayed in here. If you don't want 'em though, I can have 'em moved lickety split."

"Oh, we want them." Ash quickly said.

May nudged him on the arm, careful not to knock Pikachu off his shoulder.

"If you kids don't like the walls, you can strip 'em or paint over 'em. Many folks, including my beloved wife, would say I have no taste but I don't give a hoot. So, what do yah kids say? Do we have a deal?"

May and Ash exchanged glances.

"Excuse us." She said, pulling Ash in the living room.

"May, I love this place. If I didn't already have our home in Lilycove in construction I'd say buy this baby outright."

"Okay, Ash, slow your roll. How much did he say the rent was?"

"Three-fifty a month."

May put one hand on her hip. "Three-fifty?"

"I know right?" Ash replied, unable to contain his excitement.

May shook her head. "Ash, that seems…"

"Too good to be true? I know, I said the same thing to Brock."

"But Ash, that money's way too low. Did you see this house? It's practically a mansion. Rent is usually up in the thousands, five hundred dollars at lowest but nothing below that."

"May, the guy's a friend of Brock's. He's probably just giving us a discount."

"Ash, he doesn't even know us."

"But he knows Brock. He probably trusts his judgment. Come on, May. You know you like it. I saw the way you were eyeing that kitchen. And there are _two_ queen-sized beds, _and_ we've got a walk-in shower _and_ a tub that's large enough for the two of us; hint, hint. Come on, May, please. Please, please, please." He clasped his hands together and his lower lip slowly edged out beneath his upper one.

May rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ash. You know that doesn't work on me."

Ash looked towards Pikachu and together, the two of them started pouting.

May crossed her arms. "Ash."

He began whimpering.

"Ash."

Still whimpering, Ash slowly made his way behind her and rested his head on her left shoulder. His lips barely touched her cheek when she started giggling.

"Okay, okay, Ash." She laughed, pushing him away.

His arms found their way around her waist. "You mean it? I mean, are you sure? I don't wanna move in if you don't."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Ash gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks, babe. I know you're going to love it."

"But Ash, if we move in here, we're going to have to stay this time. No more house hopping with our parents. This is it. This is where we're going to live until our house is ready. Are you absolutely sure about this place?"

"May, we have cable."

She smiled. She held his chin and kissed him gently on the lips. "Well then, I guess we've found our home."

* * *

May sat in her nightgown curled up in her new comfortable bed, reading one of her magazines. The television was on but she was only half listening to the evening news. She heard a soft purr and peered over her magazine to see Pikachu lying on his back looking thoroughly content.

"Comfortable isn't it, Pikachu?"

"Piiiiiikaaaa…" he moaned.

The bedroom door opened with a "click" and a figure stepped into the doorway. May chuckled heartily at the sight. Her fiancé was dressed in an unbuttoned short-sleeved red dress shirt and a pair of black shorts. It was at times like this that she was thankful that Delia had made all of the clothes he wore during his journeys.

"Ash?"

Carrying a CD player in his hand, Ash moseyed on over to the dresser and placed the bulky electronic device on the dresser.

Knowing what exactly was going to happen within the next couple of minutes, Pikachu hopped off of the bed, stretching for a brief moment, before leisurely making his way out of the room. There was another _Temperpedic_ waiting for him downstairs.

"Look what you did, Ash. You scared him away."

Smiling slyly, he plugged the cable cord into the wall.

"Ash, what are you…"

He held up his finger with his right hand, silencing her. He slowly placed his finger on the "Play" button. Immediately, Marvin Gaye's hit single _Let's Get It On _filled the room.

May burst out in a fit of laughter as she watched Ash lip-synch and sway his hips to the funky music.

_I've been really tryin', baby  
Tryin' to hold back this feelin' for so long_

She could feel the heat of his body by the time he reached the bed and slowly crawled towards her.

_And if you feel, like I feel baby  
Then come on, oh, come on  
Whoo_

Ash barely got the phrase "Let's get it on" out of his mouth before his lips met with May's. She gave into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands reached around her waist and down. The hem of her already short nightie started creeping up.

_Riiiing!_

Breaking free of the kiss, Ash's eye shot opened as he looked over to the black telephone on the nightstand beside the bed. May had already started kissing his neck.

_Riiiing!_

"Um…M-May…" Ash studdered. "M-May…t-the phone…"

"Let it ring." She breathed.

_Riiiing!_

"May… you have no idea how much I would love to do that, but what if it's important?"

"Let it ring."

_Riiiing!_

"May…"

"Ash, please just let it ring. Please." She asked as she continued kissing his neck.

_Riiiing!_

Trying his best not to let his eyes roll in the back on his head, Ash climbed over his fiancée and craned his neck, trying to read the caller ID._ Gym, Petalburg _was inscribed across it.

"May, it's your Dad."

"What?" She shot up from underneath him, not noticing or even caring that she had hit Ash in his right eye, knocking him to the floor in agonizing pain.

_Riiiing!_

Eyeing the phone precariously, May's hand flew to her mouth.

_Riiiing!_

"Are you going to answer it?" Ash asked slightly annoyed as he held his sore eye with one hand and tried to pick himself up with the other.

"Ash, I can't answer it. I can't talk to Dad knowing that we were about to…you know."

"So then you're just gonna let the machine pick it up? May, we haven't recorded our voices on the answering machine yet." He said, finally standing on his own.

_Riiiing!_

"You answer it."

"May, you're closer to it. You're standing right next to the phone."

_Riiiing!_

Looking towards the nightstand, May took the phone up off the hook and flung it in Ash's direction, hitting him once more in the eye, knocking him to the ground and causing him to scream out in pain.

"Sorry." She said softly.

_Riiiing!_

Grunting, Ash held his bruised eye as he picked up the phone and put it to his ear.

"Hello?"

May meekly made her way over towards him, helping him to his feet and listening intently to his conversation with her father.

"Uh-Huh…Yeah, we just got settled……couple hours ago………No, we planned on moving them this weekend……no we haven't………okay, I'll tell her……okay, bye."

Wincing, he pressed the "Talk" button on the phone and sat heavily on the bed.

"What'd he say?"

"He wanted to know if we were settled in yet. He also said your Mom took Beautifly with her to some little get-together they're having at the Pokémon Center. He didn't want you to be worried so he called."

"Oh." She started drumming her fingers on her lap. "Well, if there aren't any more distractions…" Leaning over towards him, she started kiss him again but he pulled away.

"What's wrong?"

He shot up off the bed. "May, I'm nowhere near as turned on as I was when I came in here."

"But you're the one who played the song? You're the one who came onto me?"

"Yeah, but that was before you punched me in the eye and pelted me in the face with the phone!" He pointed to his swollen right eye for emphasis. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go to the PokéMart to buy a bag of frozen peas to put on my right eye."

He left the room without another word, leaving his May a little annoyed and somewhat confused.


	9. Chapter 9

"Mom? What's all this?"

May sat down in the center of the couch, looking at all the glossy magazines and books spread out on the coffee table. It surprised her to see anything of the sort out. Her mother wasn't prone to sitting and reading periodicals unless they were medical journals. When did she have time, between her career as the aromatherapist head at the Pokémon Center and pretty much keeping a home up by herself? Both May and her brother stayed so busy working and training they really never had too much time to help with the house. Her eyes got big as she picked up the nearest magazine. _Twenty-First Century Bride_ featured a young blonde on its cover, dressed in an elaborate wedding dress with a train that would have put Amtrak to shame. Putting it back down, she checked the other periodicals spread out on the twin-tiered table. They all had the same overall theme, with names like _Midwestern Wedding_ or _Modern Nuptials_.

Caroline Maple came back into the den, drying her hands after putting the lunch dishes away. May had a break in the middle of her day, while Ash and Pikachu were off training, so she called her daughter to come eat with her that afternoon on her rare weekday off.

"Just some things I'm looking at."

"Mom! The wedding is still like ten months away. Aren't you going a little overboard?"

"Overboard? Oh, come on, May. Ten months really isn't that long. What were you going to do? Wait until you two get your passes next year? That will leave you with exactly one month to get ready."

"Sounds like plenty of time to me. Do you have any idea how much work I'm going to be doing that last month?"

"Oh dear me, I guess it was nothing like medical school." Caroline smiled at her daughter, sitting down in the chair off the end of the table. "Really, if I know you, you'll want everything planned out to the tiniest detail."

"I'm so not going to be that way. All I really want is a simple little wedding. Really, it's not a big deal."

"Yes it is a big deal, sweetheart. There's much more to do than just simply showing up at the church or Ash's synagogue…um, which one is it going to be anyway?"

"We haven't really talked about it all that much yet. We've been sort of busy, what with the new house, and everything."

"How was your first night in your new home anyway, sweetie? You haven't said a word about it since you came in."

May frowned. "It was…okay. I guess."

Caroline gave her daughter a strange look.

"Okay? Now, May, I'm no rocket scientist or a trained professor like Prof. Birch, but I would think that on your first night on being alone, that you two would be doing something that qualifies well above just okay. Or was it really that bad?"

"Mom!"

"I'm only being honest with you, dear. What happened? Was your evening ruined? Was it when your father called?"

She shifted in her seat a little bit. "Mom, last week was fine, okay. All I'm going to say is that the phone is going to be on Ash's side of the bed from now on."

"Why is that?"

"Mom, I'm done. End of discussion."

Caroline just went on. "Alright then, back to your wedding. There's still your dress to consider, caterers, flowers, invitations."

"Uch. Really, Mom, you make it sound like such a big production. I was just thinking of inviting both families and a few friends. Then we can have the ceremony and that's it."

"You really think it's going to be that simple? May, you're a public figure. Ash too."

"Oh, don't remind me. If I see another story in those tabloids about me living with some pretty-boy movie star I'm going to hurl."

"That's not what I'm talking about. Look here." She sifted through a couple magazines until she came to one. "There has been much speculation about the nuptials of femme-fatale May Maple to her long-time boyfriend, partner, and hero, Ash Ketchum. Some have speculated the two of them will finally tie the knot, but the couple have been keeping their plans under wraps." She closed the book and handed it to her daughter. "I haven't been able to find it this morning, but there's another one with an artist's concept of what your dress might look like. I bet you don't even know yet, do you?"

"I really haven't thought about it, at least as far as putting it on paper or anything. I've got a general idea of what I want in my mind. Simple, elegant, white."

Caroline's eyebrow shot up slightly. May caught the look and scowled at her mother. "Yes, I'm going to wear white."

"I didn't say anything. I wore white at my wedding, and that was twenty-three years ago."

"Of course you wore…" What her mother said finally sunk in. "Oh, Mom! TMI!"

"All I'm saying, honey, is that people are going to expect something big, something grand."

"It's my wedding." May pouted. "Aren't I supposed to get what I want? The way you make it sound, I'm starting to think we'd be better off just heading to the county courthouse and eloping."

"Really, May, would you actually think of doing that to Ash?"

"Doing what? He's as ready to be married as I am. If it wasn't for those last months when he was away training, we'd probably have headed off to Celadon City and tied the knot already."

Caroline leaned forward, putting her elbow on her knee and looking at her daughter through hooded eyes. "Do you remember what you said to me on the phone when we were talking about your Prom at the Contest Hall a few years ago?"

"Uch. Don't remind me. That almost turned out to be one of the biggest mistakes of my life."

"That's not what I'm talking about. You said you wanted to make a statement."

"I'm not about making statements any more, Mom. I love Ash and that's all that matters."

"That is what I am getting at. You have fans out there, and if you have a big, elaborate wedding with all the trimming, that's going to make a huge statement about how you feel about him. Maybe that will go a long way to shutting those tabloids up too."

"Maybe. It just feels like it's so far away right now. It's still technically summer for a few more days, and the wedding's in the middle of spring next year."

"The date you have in mind is not exactly the middle. Besides, after you two get your league passes next year, I'm sure the two of you are going to go on vacation together."

"Actually, we were going to save that for the honeymoon."

"At least you save something."

"Mom! You're the one who was always pushing us together, you're the one who was happiest when Ash and I started… you know."

"I was and I am. It's just…I wasn't really expecting you to move out just yet. Do you know how angry I was with your father when I found out he suggested you do it?"

"You were…huh?"

Caroline took a deep breath before going on. "I used to think I would be the one who would finally give you a little push out of the nest. Now it's funny that I regret you leaving. No, I never had a problem with you and Ash taking things more physical. Honestly, I thought the two of you waited plenty long enough, but I miss having a daughter. I love your brother, but…he's a boy. It's totally different, and he is closer to his pokémon than he is with anybody else, and that includes you, your father and I, even his girlfriend, which I'm not even sure he should be having at his age."

"Mom, it's not like you've lost me. We only live in Rustboro, and when our permanent home is ready, it's only 30, maybe 45 minutes away."

"I know. Still doesn't change the way I feel. Anyway, why don't you look at a few of these things, maybe some dress patterns. That way, once spring gets here, all you'll have to worry about is getting to the church on time and keeping Ash from seeing you before the ceremony. That's not going to happen if you spend the entire month of May or April worried about whether the invitations will be ready in time to send out, or if your dress is going to be back from the cleaners, what your bridesmaids will be wearing. Have you even given any thought to who your bridesmaids will be?"

"Oh, I haven't decided who's going to be Maid-of-Honor, though I've considered Harley. He's been a real good boy for the past few years, not to mention all the trouble he's going through in planning my wedding. I think I'll have to include Misty and Dawn. Maybe Christine; you know, the girl I met in Orre a few years back?"

"You'll need at least five."

"Let me think about it. Okay, so you've got me started on this, it doesn't mean we have to plan out every single detail today."

Caroline got a little evil gleam in her eye. "You could always ask your old friend Drew to come. Didn't the two of you bury the hatchet a while back?"

"Eck. So not. Calling it quits with the rivalry was one thing, but having Drew in my wedding? Like that's ever going to happen. That's about as likely as Team Rocket marrying each other."

"Stranger things have been known to happen. Like Harley coming to me for help because he had this odd notion he could trust me."

"Never said he wasn't smart. He was just playing off the way we think, about the way we feel about honor and integrity. He used that to his own ends. He trusted you because he knew we weren't like him. But he's changed since then, I know. He…"

"Enough about Mister Dawson. So, a white dress, huh? You know who is going to flip when she hears about that?"

"Nana? Mom, she's old fashioned, but I think she knows about Ash and me. She might have made us sleep in separate beds the last time we were down there, but she knows we're living together. Nobody in their right mind is buying that bit about us having our own rooms."

"I think your father likes to pretend that you do…sometimes, but I'm not referring to Nana."

"Oh no, not…"

"Yes. Aunt Mary."

"Mom, she's just freaked that Austin still doesn't have a girlfriend."

"Mary was old fashioned about things long before Austin was even born. She gave me no end of grief when she found out your father and I were…"

"Whoa, TMI-land again there Mom. The fact the Max and me were born is enough evidence I ever needed that you two…" She shuddered slightly.

"Well, you did notice that she hasn't exactly spoken to you and Ash very much, especially since the two of you started going on trips together…non-journey trips."

"I thought that had more to do with Austin still not forgiving me for getting him kicked out of the PokéTumble, or whatever that silliness was called."

"Anyway, whether we like it or not, she's going to be involved. There hasn't been a wedding in this family she didn't stick her nose into. Her and your Granny Credible."

May started wondering if going perfectly nuts over a wedding might actually be a family trait shared by all the Credibles. Her Mom, her sister Mary, her mother…

She sat back on the couch and covered her forehead. "I just realized we're going to have to invite Ash's family too."

"Well, of course they're going to be invited. I know his cousin Jeffery can be a little monster…"

"No, I'm not talking about him. He's still just as evil, but at least he's learned how to control himself." May grimaced again. Jeffery had gone from an out-and-out, in your face evil seven to a devious, secretive evil twelve. She wasn't sure which one was more dangerous. That paled when she thought about the others. "I was actually talking about…well…never mind."

"What?"

"No, it's probably not even important. It doesn't need to be said. Besides, I don't like tempting luck that way. I can't count how many times Ash and I wanted to…then something happened…" She blushed crimson, realizing what she had just said. "Look, uh, Mom, I'd better be getting back to the house. Ash is probably waiting for me."

"It's only one-thirty, dear. Why don't you take a look at some more of these? I've picked out some lovely patterns for the invitations, and the reception place-markers."

"Really, Mom, one thing at a time. Besides, I don't want to do too much of this without Ash."

"Ash can't help you pick out your wedding dress. That has to be totally up to you. He can't even see it until the ceremony."

May put her hands up. "Okay, that's it. I get it, I can't wait all the way until spring to start planning this, but it's freaking July. Maybe after the holidays I'll think about this. Yes, you're right, a big, lavish wedding would look real nice, but I don't want to put on some big media spectacle either. I'm not in the limelight as much as I used to, and that suits me just fine. I'm not the same person I was nine years ago. There's going to come a day when I won't be doing the coordinating thing anymore and I'm going to want to simply be left alone to raise a family." She shut up the moment that slipped past her lips. There was nothing Caroline Maple would like better than to be a grandmother, especially if she could be one before she turned fifty.

That was so not going to happen. May had made mistakes with her meds before, but ever since they had taken their relationship to the next level, she took them religiously. There wasn't going to be a 'happy accident.' The last thing she wanted was to have her wedding dress let out at the last moment because they had gotten ahead of themselves _that_ way. Then she really would want it to be a private little ceremony. The tabloid press would have a field day with her getting married pregnant. She knew her star was fading slightly, but she certainly didn't want to hold onto her notoriety that way.

"Look, Mom, why don't you thin out the herd, as it were, and I'll take a look. Right now I've got bigger things to worry about, like where my fiancé is, my weekly meetings with Harley, stuff like that."

"Okay, dear. Don't you worry about a thing, I'll handle it all."

May nodded as she picked up her purse to go. It wasn't until she was halfway back to the house before she realized what had just happened.

Her mother was good. Too good. She knew she would be satisfied with having a small, private ceremony with just the two immediate families in attendance. That was who and what was important to her. Yet her mother was the one wanting the big wedding. The whole lunch-date, the magazines on the table, the discussion.

May had been played. Now she had given her mother consent to basically take over the plans for the wedding. She had as much as ceded total control to her.

She banged her head lightly on her steering wheel as she waited for the light to change.

* * *

May barely got her keys in the lock when the door suddenly flew opened. She saw Ash standing there as giddy as could be.

"You're in a good mood today, honey. I presume that the horrible fiasco that was last week is no longer embedded in your brain?" She said as she flopped down on their comfortable loveseat cushion.

"Oh, it's still there. This bruise on my eye can testify to that." He pointed to his no longer swollen but still visibly red eye.

"At least it's healing."

"S'ha, it's healing. You know how many heating packs and frozen bags of peas I put on this bad boy? It cost me so much money for the first few days, then…"

"I thought you were going to tell me why you were so happy?"

The smile returned to Ash's face. "Pikachu! Bring them in, buddy!"

The electric-type pokémon came bouncing into the living room, carry what must have be many envelopes in his mouth. He carried what he could manage between his tiny little fingers. He dropped all envelopes on the coffee table before sitting down on the table with a sigh.

"What's all this?"

"Mail! Can you believe it? We've only been here a week and we're already getting mail!"

"Ash, that's because we forwarded the mail from my parents' address to this one."

"Yeah, but it's going to be our very first time opening mail in our own home!"

With an exasperated sigh, May sat up and flipped through several of the envelopes.

"Well don't get too excited now." Ash said, crossing his arms.

"Ash, did you read any of these when you came home?"

"No. I was waiting for you to come home so we could savor the moment of the opening process in our new home. We're opening mail in our _new_ home."

"Ash, look." She said, quickly getting to her feet and handing Ash one of the letters. He opened it up and quickly read through it.

"College Acceptance Letters?" They said in unison.

Ash wore a perplexed look on his face. "May, what's college?"


	10. Chapter 10

Ash moved anxiously about in his mother's living room. It had taken several hours for May, Delia, and even May's parents to explain to him exactly what a college was and furthermore, what went on within one. He had stood slack-jawed throughout the whole explanation, gasping time and again. He was stunned when he found out that he not only had to go back to school, but had to attend this one for a minimum of four years. After a while, he stood in silence and let his family continue to explain about this 'college'. He couldn't find the words to express how he felt about the situation when they were done.

"I can't believe this!" Ash said as he continued to pace back and forth in the room. Delia, Norman, and Caroline were all empathetic about the situation, while May, who kind of expected that they would have to attend college some time down the road, was more sympathetic towards Ash. But that sympathy quickly went away as she started to get a headache.

"Ash, honey, please calm down." Delia said.

He abruptly stopped pacing and about-faced to face his mother. "No, Mom! I won't calm down! I can't calm down! I can't believe this is the first time I'm hearing about this so-called 'college'."

May began rubbing her temples. "Ash, really, it's not that big of a deal."

"Oh, yes it is! And how is it you knew about this and I didn't? I never even heard you speak about this _college_ once!"

"I always knew there were colleges, Ash. I just didn't think we'd have to attend one."

"Of course you have to attend, May." Caroline said. "Every trainer has to attend, everyone knows that."

"I didn't!" Ash spat out. "I didn't even know there was a such thing as a 'college' up until a couple hours ago."

"Ash, sweetie, do you honestly think you can become a Pokémon Master without a college degree?" Delia asked.

"I did up until you said that."

"Honey, everybody has to go to college before they start their career. In fact, the only ones who don't go to college are those few individuals who aren't educated. And those are the ones who are missing out on life—the ones who don't learn."

"Are you saying that I'm not educated?"

"No, honey! Oh, I would never…"

"What she's saying, Ash," Caroline cut in. "Is that all the big names you hear out there like Wallace, Drake, Lance—they all had to go to college before they became who they were, whether it be Gym Leaders, Elite Four Members, Champions, whatever. They all had to go to college."

Ash began flouncing around the room.

"Ash, sweetie, this really isn't as big as you're making this out to be." Delia said calmly.

"No, Mom, I suppose it isn't. But this is definitely news to me."

"Ash, honey…"

"You said the purpose of this 'college' is to educate me. Well isn't that what the trainer school is for? Why do I have to go to college?"

"Ash," Norman said. "Trainer school is just to teach you the basics about being a trainer. Now that you are one, a very good one at that, the next step is to go to college, which is where you broaden and deepen your knowledge and develop higher-order skills. It's just another stage in the educational ladder after trainer school and before entering the working world or going to graduate school."

He stopped pacing. "Whoa, Whoa, back up. Graduate school? What is that?"

"Don't worry about it, Ash." May said. She continued rubbing her temples. Her headache was getting worse.

"Hold the phone, May. You're telling me I have to go somewhere else after I finish this…this _college_?"

"No, baby. You don't have to. You don't even have to go to college if…"

"Wait a second! If I don't have to go to college, then what is this whole argument about?!" Ash fumed.

"I give up." She got up out of her seat and headed towards the kitchen, much to Ash's dismay.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Ash," Delia cut in. "Honey, if you want to be a Pokémon Master, you're going to have to go to college. Trainer school isn't enough to make it. I remember when I got my Bachelor's…"

Ash looked steadily at Delia. "Wait a second, you have a degree? Since when!"

"Since I moved here. I had to finish my education, sweetie. Since I didn't live in Johto anymore, I couldn't finish my last two years in UG. I had to transfer to the University of Viridian. It was difficult because you were born soon after I moved. I had to drop you off by Prof. Oak most days just to make sure you were taken care of while I was away. That's how you met your friend Gary."

"Yeah, we're _real_ good friends." He said dryly. Even though the two of them had buried the hatchet and stopped being rivals years ago, there was still something about Gary that got under his skin. Maybe it was that retched nickname he kept insisting on calling him.

"The truth is dear, I was barely making ends meet as it was. I couldn't take care of you and I thought I'd have to put college on hold for a while. If it wasn't for Prof. Oak taking you in and paying for my tuition, I don't know how I would've made it." A tear rolled down Delia's cheek. She quickly wiped away and looked at her son. "But I'm getting off the subject. What I'm basically saying Ash is that college is just the next step after becoming a trainer. That's it. Like Norman said, it's nothing more than another step in the educational ladder."

Ash once more began pacing the room, this time with his arms crossed. "Okay, I guess I kind of get the gist of what you're saying, but I still don't understand how I'm getting all these letters. I didn't apply to any of those colleges. You have to apply to these sort of things, don't you? Isn't that how I was enrolled in trainer school?"

Caroline folded her hands. "Well, Ash, you're a well-known public figure. Those colleges probably see you as an asset to their school."

"So why should I go if I'm just a fix? A name they can have on their records?"

"You don't have to, sweetie. That's when it's you call. You can either reject or accept the invitation."

He stopped pacing. "Okay, one more question: Homework. In trainer school I got piles upon piles of homework almost every day. Do I get any while I'm in college?"

"Yes, I believe you will," Norman said. "But then again that depends on your professor. Homework is just practice—something to make sure you understand the concepts of what you're being taught. I'm not sure whether it's piles and piles or loads of loads you will be getting, but back in my day, it really wasn't so much to make a case out of it."

"There's also the fact, dear, that you're going to have to study—a lot." Delia said. "I wouldn't say college is hard but it's definitely not filled with bird courses. You have to study, take notes, research, experiment, everything."

"Oh boy. Okay, so it's not hard?"

They all exchanged glances again. Caroline took this one. "I guess that depends on the student and perhaps your professors. Some of them are lenient, some are strict. And the way you, as a student, processes it and acts on it has a lot to do with how well you will exceed in that course. But I believe that if you just do what you've been told, ask questions, and be diligent, then you won't much have a problem with college."

Wringing his hands, Ash nervously began looking around the room.

"Ash, sweetie, please calm down. College really isn't something to get so worked up about." Delia tried to reassure.

He let out an exhausted sigh. "I guess not, Mom. But…this is just not something I had planned in my future. I mean, trainer school was some of the hardest work I've ever done, and I barely passed as it was. Now I have to go to college, doing work that's harder and even more rigorous. It just seems so demanding. Why do I have to listen to some professor tell me if I am a good or bad trainer to even be considered to be a Pokémon Master? I'm not even sure if I want to be that anymore."

"College isn't all that bad, Ash." Norman said. "It has its perks."

"Such as?"

"Freedom." Delia said.

"I already have freedom."

"Parking." Caroline said.

"I don't have a car."

"Okay, Ash." Norman said. "One of the best things about college is your schedule. In college, especially as you move along in years, you are usually required to ask to take certain classes. In addition to that, you can pick the time and the days of the week you want to attend. You can make you schedule to accommodate your lifestyle. College is also where you can make some lifelong friends as well. Another perk about college are the sororities and fraternities. And I suppose the best thing about college would be graduating. The good thing about this is that you will be able to say that you were a hard enough worker to hang in there until the very end. And on graduation day your mother will cry with joy." He shot a glance over at Delia who nodded in agreement. Just the thought of her Ashy graduating made her eyes well.

"You're also lucky to have the freedom that you have right now. But you must to keep in mind that you and May are public figures. The paparazzi will be everywhere. You will have absolutely no privacy. That's where you have to be careful."

Ash chuckled dryly. "Believe me Norman, I know. Me and May had our share of experiences with the press."

"Then you should be prepared for anything. Really Ash, college is not the end of the world. You'll get by."

Sighing once more, Ash took his favorite red cap off of his mother's coffee table, tracing it, before placing it back on the table.

"I think I'll go see if May's okay." He said, heading into the kitchen to find his upset fiancée.

Norman let out the sigh he had had been holding for so long. "That went better than I expected."

"At least he's calmed down. I think it'll be easier to explain to him the rest tomorrow." Caroline said, picking up her purse and heading to the coat rack to pick up her coat. Norman helped her put it on.

Delia joined the two of them at the door. "I think it'd be best to let May explain to him the rest. She may be able to put it in better terms than we can."

"Agreed."

* * *

Meekly entering the kitchen, Ash saw May leaned up against the kitchen counter. Her arms were folded across her chest and she was looking out of the kitchen window. He slowly made his way behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She said, giving into the embrace.

"You still mad at me?"

She turned around and rested her head on his chest. "It wasn't you I was mad about."

"Well, you sure fooled me." He tightened his grip around her waist and held her firm against his chest as he had done most times when he was comforting her. "What were you mad about?"

"An accumulation of things."

"Like?"

"The wedding, the acceptance letters, stuff like that."

"Okay, I understand the letters. Why are worried about the wedding? That's still a year off." He pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes.

She lifted her head off of his chest. That's when Ash noticed her wet cheeks.

"Are you crying?"

She wiped at her face with her hand, sniffling while she did so. That's when Ash grew concerned. He cupped her face. "May, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

"It's nothing." She continued to wipe away her tears.

"Something's bothering you. Something's hurting you. Something's making you cry. What's wrong? Tell me."

"Ash, really, it's nothing." She forced a smile on her face. Ash still wasn't convinced.

"May, tell me what's bothering you. What's worrying you? Is it really planning the wedding? If that's the case, I'm sure I can get someone to help out; something to ease your stress. I'll even go with you to…see Harley if you want me to."

"No, no." She took his hands off of her face and held them in her hands. "The wedding planning is fine, even though I virtually gave Mom total command to take over the plans for the wedding."

"Is that what's bothering you?"

"No." She looked him in the eyes and gave another weak smile. "This is my wedding, Ash; my day to shine. I'm taking control back, guaranteed. It's just like I said earlier. It's an accumulation of things."

"What's accumulating? I heard you say the letters were bothering you as well. You scared about going to college too 'cause I know I am."

She chuckled. "You're scared?"

"Yeah, a little bit. I can admit that. But that wasn't the question."

She sighed. "I'm not scared. I just wasn't expecting to go."

"Me either."

She rested her head back on his chest. Ash started rubbing her back. "I mean, I guess I kinda did but I was hoping not to. That's why I was crying."

"You were crying because you didn't want to go to college?"

"Not in the sense you're implying it." She looked him back in his eyes. "I was crying because I didn't like the thought of changing my future. Our future."

"What are you talking about?"

Again she sighed. She felt like crying all over again. Ash continued to rub her back as she went on to explain.

"Ash, I didn't want to change my lifestyle. I didn't want to change my plans for the wedding. We were supposed to be pronounced husband and wife next year and we may end up putting that off for another four years until we graduate. It's going to be difficult to plan a wedding when we have classes to attend and work to do. Not to mention the fact that we're going to have to get jobs to help pay for the rent on our house. I'm going to have to make new plans with Harley…I just want things to stay the way they are right now. I know I'm being selfish but that's how I feel."

"May, you have a right to be selfish. I believe we all do. But it may not be as bad as you think."

"Yes, it will. Ash, I want to get married to you so badly. I want so badly to be your wife that sometimes I can't sleep at night knowing the wedding is…or was just under a year away. Now we may have to wait another four years before we can say our 'I do's.' I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't adapt well to change."

"Believe me May, I think the world knows you don't adapt well to change. But that aside, you know I love you, May. I love you so much, it really does hurt sometimes. What does it matter if we wait four years or ten months to get married? It's not gonna change the way I feel about you. We're already living together; we spend like every waking moment together; we practically act like a married couple on the day-to-day basis. I mean, a marriage license is just documentation of our relationship. And if this is about the wedding, it's still going to be the wedding of your dreams, whether we have it tomorrow or ten years from now."

"I know, Ash. Like I said, it's just me being selfish. I really wanted to have our wedding next spring."

"Then we'll have it."

"But our classes…"

"We'll make it work. Like _I _said, I want you to have the wedding of your dreams. I'm merely there to show up and say 'I do'. Our wedding day is going to be your day. It's your day to shine like the sun. We'll find a way to make it work. I know you said you wanted a spring wedding and we'll get one. And if you want to get married next year, then we will. The only thing we have to put off is the honeymoon, which I believe quite frankly we have every night."

She couldn't help but smile. How true that statement was?

"Okay Ash, you're right. It's not a big deal. I'll amp down about the wedding, at least for now. I can't tell you how much I love you right now."

"No, but you can show me." He said slyly. He puckered his lips, ready for a kiss. May put her finger to his lips.

She whispered. "If you can wait until tonight, I will."

Stepping out of his grasp, she left him almost unable to stand on his own. She stopped at the kitchen door.

"And by the way, it's not _every_ night we make love."

Finding the strength in his legs, he made he his way over to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes it is. You can't go on without you're daily dose of Ash-shine." He made his way past her and plopped down on his mother's living room couch.

May tried her hardest to look upset but she ended up smiling anyway.

She couldn't deny it. He was right.


	11. Chapter 11

Leaning against the wall in their living room, May pulled her heels off her feet, stepped over to the couch and then flopped down. Ash plopped down beside her as he pulled his shirt off. May covered her eyes with her arm and leaned back groaning.

"How many luncheons does that make now?"

Ash lay back. May slid to his side, took his arm and placed it around her shoulders. Snuggling up to him she sighed. Ash gave her a slight hug then...

"BURRRPPP"

May elbowed him.

"Ash, that's gross."

Ash gave her another hug.

"Sorry about that May. In answer to your question, this was the eighth luncheon we have had. That does not include the seven dinners and four breakfast meetings. All of the above can be broken down into one fact. All the administrators, coaches and faculty members we have met with want us to attend their schools. They want me on their battle teams and/or track teams. They want you on the gymnastics team and/or coordinating squads. All offered free rides for both of us."

May shifted under his arm.

"I hear a _'but'_ coming."

Ash gave her a kiss on the top of her head, which brought a small smile to her face.

"Yessssss. There is a _'but'_. The same one we discussed several times. And that is the fact that..."

May finished the sentence. "All of them considered us to be great assets to their universities. Do you get the same feeling that I am feeling?"

Ash nodded.

"That they want us to attend their schools so that they can brag we go to their school. I have a feeling that we would be called in to represent the school every time some dignitary would come to the school."

May groaned. "I am not going to be something that the school can show us off like some trophy. I want an education not be made some type of showpiece."

May stood up and stretched.

"I'm gonna go up and get out of this dress. Why don't you grab a change of clothes out of the guest room and change also. Maybe we can grab a bite to eat at the steakhouse before it's too late."

Ash grinned as May headed for the steps.

"The guest room? Sure that I can't watch?"

May flipped her hair back over her shoulder and gave him a sultrily look.

"Not tonight, bad boy. You've seen as much as you need of me for a while. Now, after you put the other ring on my finger, then you will be welcome to join me. Until then, you will just have to dream."

Ash coughed.

"Dream? I don't have to dream. I see you that way every night."

He ducked as May threw one of her high heel shoes at him. She stood at the bottom of the stairs with her hands on her hips.

May found herself standing alone at the bottom of her stairs. Shaking her head and grinning, she turned and climbed the rest of the way to their room.

* * *

Stacks of letters covered the kitchen table. Reaching for another one, May slit the envelope open and pulled the contents free as Ash did the same with a similar envelope. Pulling the letter open, May blew a strand of hair out of her face and began to read.

_Dear Miss Maple,_

_We would like to extend an invitation for you to attend our University with a full scholarship. We believe that we have a fine program for you and that you would be a great asset to the school…_

May picked up a red marker and placed an X at the top of the page. She turned to Ash as he scanned his letter. Seeing that she was looking at him he began to read the letter that had the same letterhead as hers.

_Dear Mr. Ketchum,_

_We would like to extend an invitation for you to enter our training/battling program with a full scholarship. We believe that we have a fine program for you and that you would be a great asset…_

May shook her head. Ash nodded and picked up a similar red marker and marked his letter.

May put her head in her hands and groaned.

"You think that they might get a little more original with their letters."

"At least they didn't beg like a dozen others did. I find it amazing that no one of these replied to you, yet now they are sending me another acceptance letter along with one to you. All of them say that we would be a great asset to their school. Which means we would end up being publicity figureheads for the schools, just like all the others who wanted to meet with us."

"What is the count?"

Ash picked up a legal pad.

"Of all the letters, not including those we met with, that's the twelfth school to offer us both full scholarships. There are eight more that offered us full scholarships plus off-campus housing, which we don't need. All of them extended offers for you to be on a coordinating program and for me to be on the trainer/athletes team. Four of them offered you a place on their gymnastics team and breeding program."

May rolled her head back as she closed her eyes.

"And not one of them even acknowledged me before did they?"

Ash didn't say anything until May brought her head down and turned to face him. Ash shook his head no.

"Not a one."

May placed both letters in a box marked, _"Rejected"_

"May?"

Ash picked up another envelope.

"May, this one is addressed to both of us. It's from Rustboro University."

May slid her chair over next to Ash as he handed her the letter. Ash picked up his letter opener, slit the envelope open and pulled out the letter. The letterhead announced the letter was from the President of Rustboro University.

_Dear May and Ash,_

_I would like to congratulate both of you for the medals you won representing our great nation. I would also like to extend my warmest congratulations on your recent engagement. Both of you have done great things and I know that you will continue to do the same in the future. I know by now that both of you are most likely being swamped by offers form every school on the planet. I know that we are not the brightest spot in the world, but I feel we have many fine programs here that both of you could benefit from._

_I would like to discuss the possibility of the two of you attending our university. Please call me at your convenience and I will be happy to meet with you to discuss what your needs might be both in your lines of study, any special housing needs, and if you so desire, your participation in any of our sports team or activities._

_Again I would like to congratulate you for your recent accomplishments. I look forward to speaking with you._

_President_

_Rustboro University._

May took the letter from Ash and read it again herself.

"What do you think Ash?"

May turned to see Ash smiling. May nodded.

"I think we have just found a school."

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I know, short chapter. But the next one will be posted very soon, I guarantee you. And it most definitely will not be as short as this one!


	12. Chapter 12

May was waking up for the first day of school. She felt she had matured a long way since her days as a young traveling trainer.

In the past she would have asked one of her friends. Of course, she would ask Ash, but that kind of deep thinking was not his strong suit. Another change she was going to have to deal with was being without her old circle of friends. Max had stayed at home, at least until he began his next journey. Solidad was attending M.I.T.(Mahogany's Institute of Technology). Misty was still tending to her gym in Kanto and Dawn was training in Sinnoh. The only one left from the old circle besides Brock and Harley was Drew, who moved back into town a year earlier when he transferred from Blackthorn University. Only, May wasn't about to talk to Drew about stuff like that. In fact, she wasn't feeling to talking to him at all. He still had a way of getting under her skin. And their rivalry only got worse every time they crossed paths.

May was just going to have to make new friends. That prospect was both exciting and sad at the same time. Exciting, with the expectation of meeting new people and possibly forming relationships that would last for many years to come. Sad, because, in the normal course of things, it was possible, even probable those relationships would supplant what she had forged in her younger years. The same thing would happen to the others and none of them would really know it had happened until years later when they tried to reconnect.

She made a promise to herself to hand-write a letter to both Dawn and Misty that very afternoon when they returned from school. Those friendships she was not going to let slip away.

Swinging her feet out of the bed, May twisted her ring around her finger a couple times. It was a habit she formed whenever she was thinking about Ash. They had been together ever since they completed his journey in Orre and they had become as close as they could possibly be in that time, to the point that on the night before they left for a two-week road trip together, he gave her that promise ring. The diamond was small and the ring itself dainty, but that never mattered one bit to her. It was the question that came along with it that mattered, as well as her answer, and since she was wearing it, that answer had been overwhelmingly positive. Then there was the larger and definitely more expensive engagement ring he gave her when he proposed in the Mauville Park. Seeing the two rings on her fingers showed not only how much she's grown, but also how much had changed since her traveling days.

May Maple's world really had changed. She was getting ready for her first day of college, not as a girlfriend, but as a fiancée. Just before Ash went away to train in Valencia, the two of them had a sit-down with her parents and told them of their plans. At first they were going to keep it secret for a while, but that didn't sit well with either of them. It was very nice to wear the rings openly, though. Still it was very cool and very scary to consider she was now committed to something that would last the rest of her life. Sure, other people grew apart, broke up, got divorced. That couldn't happen to her. She had gone through too much with Ash, not just the year plus they had officially been together, but in the near lifetime they had been by each other's side. They were so meant to be together that her definition of hottie had changed into what Ash was. Ragged jet-black hair, tan skin, spicy auburn eyes and a splattering of freckles on each cheek, forming twin zig-zag lines just below his eyes. Sure, he was taller, more fully built now, but she had fallen in love with him before that had happened. He was her hottie first, then an even hotter hottie later, as if it was a kind of karmic reward for choosing her rightful Soulmate.

Moments after she got out of the bed, her radio started blaring. At least her bad habits were no longer in place, though her being up ten minutes before the alarm went off had more to do with nerves than it did her internal body clock. She sometimes teased Ash about his predilection lying in bed all morning unless somebody chased him out of it. In fact, that very thing had led to some strife between them on occasion, but in reality, she had been slipping a bit herself. With nothing but her own sense that they were burning daylight to rouse her from her bed in the mornings, she had been getting up later and later as the summer wore on.

It was actually more amusing than disappointing that her father was no more happy for Ash to spend the night with her now that they were adults and engaged than when they were minors and dating. He had given them his blessing to take their trip together, but somehow, she was still his little girl whose virtue had to be protected.

After a quick shower she slipped into the clothes they had picked out together. For this first day, they weren't going to simply rely on her engagement ring to announce to the world that Ash Ketchum and May Maple were as one, and therefore 'off the market.' Anyone who saw them together that day was going to know instantly who went with whom. It may have technically been summer, but Ash had a sort of tradition to uphold. For the last four years, he had worn the exact same outfit on the first day of his journey and he was going to do the same for college. It didn't matter that it was a tad warm to be wearing two layers.

Okay, May was cheating just a little bit. She had slipped on a black tank top instead of a T-shirt. And over that, she wore Ash's old cerulean blue hoodie, only her mother altered it so it looked slimmer and more feminine. It still had the trademark pokéball insignia and golden-yellow hem like Ash's did, it just hugged her body more nicely. Her mother had taken it up a little bit as well, so it didn't hang on her like a tent, though it was long enough on her to wear like a dress. Only a short while ago she had been wearing another one of his shirt, mostly his black and white T-shirts, as a nightgown, though, she had considered wearing one of his unaltered hoodies to bed on several occasions.

Then, she slipped on some black fingerless gloves. Finally she slipped on a pair of 'artfully ratty' boyfriend jeans. Ash teased her when she bought them at the mall, but she still just couldn't quite bring herself to wear a pair from the knock-off stores like he did. They may have cost almost ten times what they would have at the bargain retailer, but there really was a difference. Maybe it was the quality, maybe it was the cut, maybe it was just knowing she paid sixty dollars for them instead of six, but no matter the why, she was going to be comfortable in her own pants.

"Well, if folks weren't calling me Mrs. Ketchum before, they sure will be now." She said to herself, checking her look in the mirror. She smiled broadly as her twin appeared at her side.

"I like the sound of that, May." Ash wrapped his arms around his fiancée's waist from behind and kissed her cheek. Turning in his arms, she gave him a more proper good-morning kiss. "Mrs. Ketchum…sounds a bit like Mom, but it looks good on you. Unless you want to keep your name."

"No way, baby. In a few years I'm going to be May Ketchum." She kissed him lightly on the nose.

He rubbed the small of her back, his fingers kneading slightly. They drifted slightly lower, just enough to imply where he'd like to be kneading, prompting a very happy smile from her.

She slipped out of his grasp and headed over to her dresser to put on her jewelry and makeup. She started putting her earrings on.

"Here, help me with this." She held the thin gold chain at arm's length. Ash may have been a compulsive battler, but he had a very deft, gentle touch with it came to her. Moments later she turned back to the mirror to put on some eyeliner and her lipstick. The final result was a very feminine version of Ash's usual look.

She got up and wrapped her arms around his chest, holding him close. "Thank you so much, baby."

"No problem. You know, I was by Brock's the other day and he was babysitting one of his sister's kids. I was thinking he's probably doomed to babysitting CJ every time he plans a date with someone. That is, if he can find one."

"CJ? Brock's niece is a week old and you're already giving her a nickname?"

Ash shrugged. "Well, Brock's already calling her Cathy and his Mom wants to call her Jean, so she's going to be confused as it is."

"CJ's kind of cute." May walked her fingers up the middle of Ash's chest. "I'm willing to bet you're going to call our son JK, aren't you."

His eyes got wide. "Whoa, getting ahead of things, aren't you?"

She pouted slightly. "Why, you don't want kids?"

"Of course I do…it's just, I wanted it to be just you and me for a while once we get married."

That sounded familiar to her, being precisely her own feelings on the matter. One day they were going to really have to sit down and hammer out exactly what their feelings were on the matter, but for the moment, that would wait. It was comforting, though, that he was of a like mind with her.

May grabbed her backpack from the chair at her computer desk. For the moment it was empty save for a few pokéballs she always kept close at hand. Soon enough, as in after a trip to the campus book store, it was going to be filled.

"Ready, Baby?"

"Guess so, May. Just, you know, when we walk out that door, summer's officially over."

May wrapped her arms around him again. "Can't be helped. I'm so not going to be late on my first day of classes. Besides, it's not like we're constantly in class all day."

"Yeah, 'cept we don't have any together and just about all day while you're out, I'll be in one."

She pulled him tighter against him. "Can't be helped, but that'll make this afternoon all that much sweeter when we're done. Tell you what, you can hold hands with me while we're in line at the book store."

"I'd like that."

"So, Ashy, we've got a few minutes before we have to go."

"May, you just put on your makeup and all." He protested, a bit weakly.

"So, it's just lip gloss and I've got plenty in my backpack."

"Whatever you say, May." He said, just as their lips met.

* * *

**A/N: **Didn't I tell you the next chapter would be posted soon? Lol, it's been a little over 3 hours since I last updated this. But, I felt that the last chapter was a bit too short. So I had to add on a little bit more to even it out with the other chapters. Hope you enjoyed this last minute addition! The next chapter should be posted soon. And by soon, I mean in a few weeks. And it _will _be longer! Man, I feel like I'm on a roll today!

For those of you who are anxiously awaiting the update of my _Fateful Journey, Manifesting Love_ saga, I must say that I have lost all documented chapters for that story because all of files were erased when my laptop crashed a few weeks ago. I am steadily working on the next chapter and I am going to revise the whole story all together as well. I'm not really going to change anything, just fix aplenty of grammatical and spelling errors that I was probably then too lazy to change. Unfortunately, that will delay the next update a little while longer. But rest assured, it will be updated before summer starts. I promise you that!

For those of you that don't have any idea what I'm talking about, I suggest you wait until the next update, just so you can read a clean, fresh and revised version of it. I read it all the way through, and I must say I was disappointed with myself. So the necessary changes will be made to that fic. Just thought I should mention that.

It also may be a little while before I update this story as well as I am going to be tending to _ALL_ of the fics that I've been so carelessly neglecting for some time now. But this story will be steadily updated as well.

That's all I have to say for right now.

On a separate note, it feels great to finally be experiencing the cool relaxing spring showers after those winter snowstorms dealt us a horrible blow (especially in February). I say this because, believe it or not, this will actually make my updates faster! Don't ask me to explain why because that is a conversation that will never end. But the next chapter will be posted in due time.

I say a much appreciated thank you to all of my fellow readers/fans! And have a very Happy Easter and fun-filled Spring Break!


	13. Chapter 13

May entered her classroom somewhat in a good mood. It was a standard college classroom in one of the older buildings on campus. Walking over to a seat on the front row, May put her bag down. Pulling a few pens and a notepad out of her bag, she placed the items on her desk. The room had gone quiet for a second when she had walked into the room. Now there were hushed whispers all round.

There was a young man seated beside her. He reminded her of Falkner in his style of dress and his hair. She smiled at him.

"Hello, I'm May Maple."

The student turned and smiled back.

"I'm Shin Hayashi."

May smiled.

"Nice to meet you Shin. Where are you from?"

"Sinnoh."

May nodded.

"My fiancé and I have a good friend from Sinnoh. We've met with her a couple of times."

Shin smiled.

"That's cool."

The room quieted down as the professor walked into the room. He dropped his old leather briefcase on his desk. The briefcase had seen better days and was being held shut by on old belt. He turned to the dry erase board and quickly wrote '_Western Civilization I'_ on the board. Under that he wrote, Dr. William Parsley, 210 Arrow Building." He slapped the marker back onto the tray and turned back to the class.

"I'm Dr. Parsley, this class is Western Civilization. If this is not the class you thought it was then you need to leave because you are wasting my time."

He waited for a moment before continuing.

"Good, then everyone thinks that they belong here. You may wish that you were somewhere else within a couple of weeks. I really don't care if you show up or not. However, the university requires me to take roll so to maintain attendance records. If you miss more that 5 classes in this course then you will fail. When you come in here I expect you to be awake and ready to work. Woe be to you if I find you asleep or unprepared. If you miss a class for any reason, you are responsible for the notes and material covered that day. So, I would be careful who you ask to take notes for you."

Parsley turned to his desk and opened his briefcase. Pulling a stack of papers out, he turned and walked down the front row handing out few from the stack that he was holding.

"This is the syllabus for the course. On it you will find the pages and chapters you will be expected to have covered before you come to class on each class date. The dates of all exams are also there. You will be expected to write at least two papers for the class. Then, there is an outline of what is expected on the final exam. My contact information is there as well."

Parsley continued to hand out the stack of papers and stopped in front of May. He looked at her for a moment. Handing her a stack of papers to pass back, he continued across the room. When he finished he walked back to his desk and pulled out a sheet of paper.

"Please answer when I call your name."

Parsley started down the list of names calling out the name of each student. He continued on and stopped when he started into the "M"s.

"May Maple."

"Here." May answered.

Parsley stopped for a moment, took off his reading glasses and sat on the corner of his desk. Crossing his arms, he stared at her.

"Miss Maple, I didn't quite know what to think when I saw your name on my class list. I do hope that you will not think your name will carry any weight in this class. As a matter of fact I will expect a little more out of you. You see, I quite detest vigilantes and in my opinion that is just what you are."

May's face flushed red. Parsley looked at May with disdain.

"Miss Maple, I don't care who you are or what you think you are. I don't care that you have all the identification or credentials in the world. In this room you are the student and I am the professor."

May sat up and replied calmly.

"That is the way I intended it to be Dr. Parsley. I am a student and wish to be treated as any normal student."

Parsley's face twitched for a moment, then he put his glasses back on and continued calling the roll. Seeing that May would not say anything else, Parsley started the class.

* * *

Whenever Ash considered the possibility of attending college, he always had a certain image in his mind of what it would be like. It would be a fresh start, a clean slate if you will. He wouldn't be the big nobody loser he always had been in trainer school.

May's first class was as eight in the morning, while his wasn't until nine. They already decided they would ride to school together in the morning, so that left him with a little time to kill before his great academic career actually began. It bugged him more than he let on that he not only wouldn't be able to wait for her at the end of her class, but that he actually didn't have any classes whatsoever with her. Their fields of study were diverging and unless there was some elective course they both wanted during some future semester, it was unlikely they would be together like that much ever again.

At first, he held out the hope they could share some classes in their core curriculum. Even though he was majoring in Pokéology, with a minor in business and May was studying Arts Visual and Performing, they still had to take the basics. Math, History, Science, English as well as some other topics that didn't seem completely necessary to him were required. Only, May jumped in with both feet with more advanced courses. Since she had taken AP English in a _higher_ trainer school while she was traveling in Johto, she was already a full term ahead of him in that subject, so that was out. The same thing applied in Science. Math was off the table as well, since she was taking advanced calculus, while he was only qualified for a more mundane trigonometry course.

That left only History. Unfortunately, they couldn't get their schedules to mesh at all due to conflicts with other classes they couldn't move around. Not only that, but while he was qualified for the more advanced course her curriculum required, he really didn't have enough confidence in himself to keep up. He only needed two credits of History and he didn't want to be repeating the courses. Take the normal class, do reasonably well, get it out of the way.

He wandered around campus for a while after staking out the lecture hall. It was nothing like what he was used to at trainer school. Instead of relatively small rooms with twenty to thirty desks, the class was being held in what looked a lot more like a medium sized auditorium. The seats were arranged in curved rows with folding mini-desks in place of arm rests. If he timed it right, he would be able to snag a good seat. Not too close to the front, definitely not in the back, just a little off to the side where he would disappear in an ocean of new Freshmen like himself. It wasn't that he didn't want to succeed in the class, he simply didn't want to put himself into a position to be called on all that much until he was comfortable with the new style of learning. He didn't want to be in the back because that would peg him as a slacker, an image he had done a lot of work to put behind him.

One thing was certainly true about a college campus. Especially in the morning, the grounds were full of students, and when it came to the female population, almost all seemed to fall into that loveliest of age brackets, from eighteen to early twenties. That was what he liked so much about being in Chrysanthemum Island for spring break a few years ago. They were still in that narrow slot when they still looked like teenagers, but they were actually adults!

The only drawback, at the time he was still fifteen and hadn't started growing again. Now it was painfully obvious that he looked like just a little boy, hitting on the big girls. They wouldn't give him the time of day until they realized Pikachu was with him. Somehow the little guy had managed to worm his way into the hearts of just about every co-ed in the beach resort, being named honorary mascot of several sororities.

Now things had changed. Ash was not only taller, but had filled out just enough to go from skinny to simply slender. His face was a little leaner as well. Instead of turning their noses up or outright ignoring him, the girls who passed by him would sometimes smile or even wave at him. He knew he was by no means any kind of hottie, but the sudden attention made something inside him tingle.

It also scared the mess out of him.

He started getting a notion that, not only being in a committed relationship, but actually being engaged was putting out an invisible wave that the women around him could somehow detect. Was it a form of confidence he now had, knowing that part of his life was now fulfilled? Or was it a sort of test the man upstairs set up for him. At least that test he knew he would pass. He could enjoy that little bit of friendly attention all day long, but he would never, ever do anything that would betray May.

A smiling co-ed with May's body, Misty's face and Dawn's hair brought him out of his little thoughts. The look on her face seemed to say _'you can have my number if you want it'_ even though she was walking with a guy twice his size. The truth of the matter was that he was with May, and had been since he was just twelve years old. Much as he always had her back, she had his as well. What he had was so much because of her, both her help and the desire she gave him to make himself better than he was.

Slowly, something else dawned on him. There was nothing especially wrong with the way he was dressed, only that, for some reason, he started realizing he still looked like a traveling trainer. It wasn't one particular thing he had on, though maybe wearing his old green backpack by both straps was a start. May had him doing that for years, telling him that holding it over one shoulder would hurt his back. Well, there really wasn't anything in there except for some snacks he would share with Pikachu later, while he was killing time alone waiting for his Pokéology class to start.

That was another good thing about college. Pokémon were permitted in the building as long as they were appropriated in size and didn't cause any disturbances during the class. It was certainly more comforting to know that Pikachu would be there with him for his first day. It was even more comforting to know that he could be there with him every day until he graduated.

It still struck him as funny how college classes were set up. For all his years in trainer school it had been every class, every day. Instead now they were spread out all over the place. Most of the classes met for three hours a week, some for an hour Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and others for an hour and a half on Tuesday and Thursday. There was also a lab course he had to take along with his Physics class that met on Tuesday nights. It was really going to be strange taking a class when it was supposed to be dinner time, but that was part of the new world he was living in. For the moment, May was willing to wait for him to get out before going to dinner with him later, but he knew eventually it was going to mean he had to get himself a new car.

The night he proposed to May his battered old Chevrolet Chevette conked out for good. Granted, he only paid three hundred dollars for the car, but there was enough wrong with it that it wasn't logical to fix it any more. The main thing that killed it that night was the timing chain breaking. That drove him a little nuts, since his mechanic told him since it had a chain and not a belt he didn't have to worry about it. Still, it broke, killing the car as dead as if the engine were gone. Throw in the fact the oil pump was on its last legs, it leaked like a sieve and the clutch he had put in back in February was already wearing out, he was better off walking to May's house that morning and riding in her car. Some kind of vehicle was needed, since the campus was across town from their homes.

He was wondering if moving back in with May's family really was a good idea. As quick as he thought about that, he discarded it again, knowing the reality of the matter was May still would have to sit around studying or something while he completed his lab assignments, whether she was taking him to his home, hers, or theirs until he had his own ride.

Checking his watch, it was time to get back to the History building. The class wasn't for another twenty minutes, but he had his particular seat to grab. He shuffled his pack onto one shoulder, trying to emulate the style the other students used. That would work until they had their books, unless they worked out some kind of system of getting back to the car between classes, using it as a defacto locker. That would mean some serious hiking, considering commuter students had to park in some pretty far ranging lots.

That was another thing that pegged him as a bit of an outsider at Hoenn. It was a traditional campus, meaning the majority of his classmates lived in the dorms. Some colleges actually required first year students to live on campus, but this school was large enough that it wasn't feasible. It simply didn't make sense for him to waste a large sum of money on a room half the size of the one he grew up in that he had to, in turn share with some guy who might turn out to be a Bruno type jock or some kind of weirdo. Growing up as an only child, Ash never had to endure sharing a room with anybody and he was not about to start unless that person was a five foot five, one hundred five pound brunette.

Still, commuter students were given the short shrift. Not only did they have to buy a very expensive parking permit, but they were only allowed to park in lots that barely qualified as being on the campus. Even Seniors were forced to park in the outer boondocks. It was like it was some kind of punishment for not partaking of the wonderful student culture that existed in the dorms.

All the more reason for them to live in their house, even if that meant one of them taking a part time job somewhere. Still, the thought of coming home, kicking off his shoes and curling up in a couch with May was reason enough for a little hardship.

Once more he checked his watch. Max's tinkering had tied it into a local time service, so he never had to fool with setting it. Something horrible tickled the back of his mind as it ticked down to the start of the class. The professor had not yet appeared and he wondered if he was actually going to be late. He watched as the seconds counted down. He already knew the bells were about forty five seconds behind his time. With ten seconds to go he looked up.

His eyes went wide as the teacher strode into the room, putting his briefcase down on the desk sitting on the raised platform.

_No! It can't be!_

The bell rang.

"Good morning class." The blue-haired professor said as he walked in. "I hope we've all had a nice summer vacation as we prepare for a prosperous new year." He turned to face the class. "My name is James Rossdale, but you may address me as Professor James or simply Professor. I will be your Pokéology professor from now until the end of the semesters."

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, I admit. I don't have a clue as to what Team Rocket's James' last name is, but I do have what I think is a very good reason for choosing Rossdale as his surname. You'll find out in the coming chapters why. So, no spoilers for you!

And a Happy Easter to all!


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Okay. I know it's been a while, but I've been in and out of hospitals for medical reasons. But, nevertheless, the story is updated. I'll try to keep up in a timely manner.

On a separate note, for those of you who are waiting for an update to _Fateful Journey, _please know that it is still continuing! I just haven't had the time to update it for the same reasons this fic has been updated so late. But I will try to update Fateful Journey before the New Year. Please give me time.

So without further ado, I present to you, Chapter 14 of _The More Things Change_!

* * *

Ash could not believe his eyes. Standing before him at the podium was Team Rocket's Agent James! How?

How was the possible? With his record, there's no way he should be allowed in here!

Ash was furious. The college board was going to hear his mouth. How could they let James through? Aren't they supposed to perform background checks on these people before giving them the job?

Pulling a stack of papers out of his briefcase, Professor James turned and walked down the front row handing out few from the stack that he was holding to each student seated in the front to pass back.

"This is the syllabus for the course. On it you will find the pages and chapters you will be expected to have covered before you come to class on each class date. The dates of all exams are also there. I have provided an outline of what is expected on the final exam. I've also provided my contact information in there as well."

When he finished passing out the papers, he walked back to his desk. "I will now prepare to call the roll. When I call your name please answer so that I can mark you present. Ino Asuki."

"Here." One student said.

"Brandon Auvisc."

"Present." Another answered.

"Sherri Badeskgh."

"Here, Professor."

Ash sprung to his feet as Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and sparks flew off his cheeks.

"You!" Ash shouted.

"Hm?" James looked up from his roster. "Is something the matter, young man?"

Ash fumed. "Is something the matter? Is something the matter! Of course something's the matter! What, didn't get your fill from harassing me in Sinnoh? You had to follow me back to Hoenn too?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I have no idea what you're talking about?" James questioned.

"Oh, you don't do you? You don't remember stealing my Pikachu? Destroying buildings? Being the mischievous troublemaker that you are? When will you leave me the hell alone!"

"Pika!"

James was getting nervous. Why was this young man causing such a ruckus in his classroom.

Ash continued to glare at him. "I don't know how they let you into this college, but I'll be damned if I let you steal my Pikachu away from me! Or anybody else's pokémon for that matter!"

"Young man, I swear to you, I don't want your Pikachu."

"Oh yeah, right! And I'm supposed to believe that after all the years of harassment you've caused me?"

"I don't remember ever meeting you before this day, though you do look at tad familiar? Did you perhaps come to my birthday celebration last month?"

"Come to your…Look…I don't know what you're up to James, but I will be letting the police know that a Team Rocket member is causing havoc on campus grounds."

James flinched. How could this man possibly know that he was a former member of Team Rocket? He had all documentation of his history with the organization terminated years ago after he left. There was no way anybody could have known past life…unless…

James snatched his roster off of his desk and hastily scanned through the list. "What was your name again?"

"Oh, like you don't already know, James," Ash narrowed his eyes.

James eyes stopped when he got to the K's.

"Ash Ketchum?"

"Yeah, that's right! And I've had about enough of you interfering in my life. I will see to it that your ass gets locked up for the rest of your pathetic life."

James looked up from the piece of paper he held in his hands. He could see the uneasiness of the other students in the class. He should have known he couldn't run away from his past. He knew some of it would resurface eventually. He just hadn't thought it pop up right in the middle of his classroom!

He set the papers down on his desk. He had worked too hard to try and erase his past and wasn't about to let this twerp drag him back down into that awful life.

"That is enough, Mr. Ketchum!" James said evenly.

Ash raised his brows. "Excuse me?"

"I said, that is enough. I will not allow you to run your mouth and disrupt my class any longer. If there is something you wish to discuss with me, then you may do so after this session is finished. Until then, sit down in your seat and be quiet unless I call upon you for a response."

Ash's mouth dropped. "Are you…"

"If you are unable to comply with this request or conduct yourself in a reasonable manner, I will have campus security escort you out of the building where you can wait for me there. This is my classroom, Mr. Ketchum, and I will not allow you to waste anymore of my time. Either sit down and hush up or leave. Do you understand?"

Ash could not believe what he was hearing.

Sharing a look with Pikachu, he slowly sat back down in his chair.

James turned his attention away from Ash and continued to call the roll.

Ash grumbled under his breath.

_What have I done to deserve this?_

* * *

Ash impatiently tapped his foot as he sat on a bench outside of the university. He couldn't believe he was going to met up with his enemy.

"Today's such a beautiful day, isn't it?" A voice said as it approached Ash.

Ash looked up to see his old nemesis wearing glasses and dressed neatly in a suit and tie.

"I take it you've calmed down since your little charade in the classroom?" James asked, hands in his pockets.

Ash raised his eyebrows before he stood to his feet. "Oh, I have not even begun."

James removed his glasses. "If you are about to serve me more of your senseless tongue-lashing, then I'm going to stop you right now."

Ash gawked. "Excuse me?"

"I did not ask you to meet with me so that you can slander my name. I asked you to meet me here so we could talk things out as mature adults."

Ash could not believe what he was hearing.

"Are you serious? Since when have we ever _'talked things out?'_ First of all, you slandered your own name when you became a part of that lowlife organization Team Rocket…"

"I am not denying that the things I've done in the past are wrong…"

"Wrong?" Ash was flabbergasted.

James raised his hand. "Please, Ash give me a chance to explain."

"And why should I do that? I've given you my trust many times before in that past and you trampled all over it."

"You are right. But that was in the past. If you continue to live in the past, how to you expect to move on in the future? I assure you, Ash, I am a changed man."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?"

James sighed.

"Come take a walk with me. If you would give me the time to explain what I've been doing for that last few years and how it's changed my life, all your questions will be answered. Please, just let me explain."

Ash tightened his lips. He didn't know if this guy was for real or if this was just one of his many schemes to steal his pokémon. Nevertheless, he let him share his side of the story and take him back through memory lane. He kept Pikachu close on his shoulder and walked cautiously beside him as he began to explain.

* * *

May entered the campus cafeteria somewhat in a gloomy mood. She already had been shaken by her professor in her Western Civilization class. And now she was starting to regret getting her hair cut. It's true, she had always worn her hair parted to the side at shoulder length. But now, she was starting to miss the long mane that flowed to her back unparted. Ash always said her hair was as soft as silk and he loved the aroma of her lavender shampoo. She knew it would grow back, but Harley's comments about her looking like a 10 year old girl still stung. She wore it different today, in a tight bun, but she was definitely going to explore some more hairstyle options when she got home.

Getting her food, a bowl of ramen and a salad, she scanned the cafeteria for a seat. Since she and Ash didn't have the same schedules, she knew he wouldn't be sitting in for lunch, which meant she wouldn't get the opportunity to scold him about his eating habits and make sure he ate healthily instead the usual junk he consumed on a daily basis.

Finding a familiar face, May made her way to a table that was outside the café, and less noisy.

"Hey, Shin!" she said with a smile.

The teal-haired man looked up from the book he was reading and greeted her with a smile.

"Hey, May. How's it going?"

"Long day." She said with a sigh. "Um, is this seat taken?"

"Not at all. Go right ahead." He replied cheerfully.

"I usually sit out here to get away from all the noise and confusion of the cafeteria."

"Yeah, I hear you," she said as she started eating her ramen.

He put his down and rested his chin on his fist, "You look different somehow?"

May swallowed what was in her mouth and pointed to her bun. "I got my hair cut."

"Looks good on you. You look real sophisticated."

"Sophisticated? Really?" May asked with a smile.

He nodded.

Just then, a little cry was heard from under the table and a ball of yellow fuzz appeared on the table. It was a tiny Pokémon with bright yellow fur, black triangle-shaped ears with three spikes on both ears, and two pink cheeks. It hopped on Shin's shoulder and nuzzled his face.

"Whoa, you have a Pichu?" May asked with curiosity and excitement.

Shin smiled back. "Yep. May, I'd like you to meet Yoshi, my starter pokémon. Say hello Yoshi."

"Pi Pi!" The tiny pokémon cried cheerily.

"Wait did you say starter pokémon?" May questioned.

"Yep. Yoshi and I have been a pair for six years now."

"Then why hasn't it evolved?"

Shin smiled. "Because she doesn't want to. See, I started my journey late as a trainer, at age thirteen, and when I was on my way to get my starter from Professor Rowan, I noticed this tiny pokémon on the ground. And I mean tiny, as in, Yoshi was prematurely hatched. I didn't see her mother or any sign of a guardian, and I couldn't just leave her there on the ground. I picked her up and she was burning with a fever. I ran to the nearest Pokémon Center I could find and called my mom, telling her what had happened."

"Then what?" May asked, thoroughly interested.

"Well, Nurse Joy had said that Yoshi was in the critical stages of hyperthermia. Her body absorbed more heat than she could dissipate. Nurse Joy explained that when the elevated body temperatures are sufficiently high, hyperthermia is a medical emergency and requires immediate treatment to prevent disability or death. She said Yoshi had a heat stroke and her chances of surviving were slim."

"Oh my gosh!" May exclaimed.

Shin nodded. "Yeah. It was pretty serious. They tried giving Yoshi fever-reducing drugs, dehumidifying the air conditioning unit, but it wasn't working. And Yoshi was too weak to drink water. So, they came to the decision that the best thing to do would be to humanely euthanize Yoshi."

May gasped.

"But I wouldn't hear it. I took Yoshi home and nursed her myself. Everyone had their doubts, Nurse Joy, my mom, even Prof. Rowan. They all thought it was too late, Yoshi being so young at the time and having such a terminal illness. But nevertheless, I proved them wrong and Yoshi became as healthy as a nursing Miltank." He said proudly.

"That's incredible, Shin!"

He beamed. "Needless to say, Yoshi chose to stay with me."

"I would be to if I awoke to see my hero."

He smiled. He rubbed his Pichu's head. "I named her Yoshi, because of our good luck. The good luck that brought us together, the good luck that kept us together, and the good luck of her surviving the whole ordeal. She's a survivor and she lives to tell her tale."

"And what a tale it is," May replied with a smile.

The female baby pokémon hopped off of Shin's shoulder and into May's arms. She scratched her between her ears, much to her delight.

Shin smiled back. "The way you handle Yoshi, I take it you own a Pichu?"

"Oh no. Well, I did once, but I gave her way to another trainer. It was for the best. But my fiancé owns a Pikachu. It was his starter too."

"Get otta here, really?"

May nodded. "Yep. He hates to be in his pokéball, so he stays out all the time."

"No way, so does Yoshi!"

"For reals?" May said as the tiny mouse hopped back onto the table near her trainer.

"Uh Huh. Yoshi was so thankful and grateful to me that she wanted to be by my side all the time. Plus, she was newly hatched so I believe she probably thought I was her parent too."

"That's so cute! You have an amazing story Shin."

"Thanks," he said with a smile, "But I'd like to know a little bit more about you? What's your story?"

* * *

Ash continued to listen as James told his tale.

"It was just one failed mission after the next. And the verbal abuse our boss put us through, we just decided it wasn't worth it anymore."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that. It was as if something had awakened within us and showed us the light. We were just his underlings and he didn't care for us. He replaced Meowth with a Persian, he chastised and ridiculed Jessie, always comparing her to her mother, and he just kept on telling me how worthless and idiotic I was. So, we decided together that we would all quit. We terminated our contract and started new lives."

"Then what?"

"Well, with no income I had no choice but to go back to my parents and inherit my riches. But then with the money came Jessiebelle, which was extremely problematic because Jessie and I grew closer together as the years went on."

"What do you mean by _'closer'_?"

"We learned more about each other. I knew Jessie's mother was a high-ranking Team Rocket agent, but I didn't know the pain she experienced because of it. When Jessie was around the age of three, her mother, Miyamoto, left on an important mission to the Andes to record the voice of the elusive Pokémon Mew. However, she disappeared while on a mission to capture a Mew for our boss and hasn't been heard from since. After Miyamoto disappeared, Jessie was put into a foster home which had very little money and much abuse. There were times when she had no choice but to eat snow because of a lack of more nourishing food."

James found himself chocking up just thinking about what she was going through. Ash was saddened too. There was so much he didn't know about the Rockets.

"I had a glorious wealthy background that I didn't want, and she had a pitiful poverty-filled background that she didn't need. I sometimes wished we could go back in time and switch lives so she wouldn't have had to go through that. But then I came to realize that was what made her stronger and who she was, which was who I love."

James wiped away his tears. "When she was old enough, she left home to become a Pokémon nurse in Johto. But, the school she was enrolled in was literally for _Pokémon_ nurses, with Chansey and Nurse Joys, so she failed to graduate and left, leaving behind a Chansey she had befriended there."

"She then traveled back to Kanto, where she enrolled in Pokémon Tech, a Trainer's school, and met me, and subsequently failed and dropped out. After this, we joined a bicycle gang in Sunny Town, where Jessie was known for swinging a chain above her head as she rode her bike, acquiring the nickname "Chainer Jess". I also learned during that time that she was a model at one point."

"Whoa, Jessie was a model?" Ash asked astonished.

James nodded. "I guess that would explain her obsession with being a Pokémon Coordinator and being in the spotlight. Anyway, after some time the gang split up. We didn't meet each other again until three years later when we coincidentally both sighed up for Team Rocket. That's also when we met Meowth. You know what happened from there."

Ash scratched his nose. "You know James, I never quite understood why you wanted to leave your home life so badly. I mean, if my mother was as rich as your parents, she'd be getting everything she ever wanted and needed in life."

James stopped walking. "I wasn't happy, Ash. I was miserable."

"Why?"

James sighed. "Being an only child of millionaires, I was forced to endure formal society while growing up, often having to take part in numerous lessons and activities I had little to no interest in. I eventually grew weary of the rules and standards that appeared to be ever-present within the upper-class. And at such a young age, I met with this girl named Jessiebelle and developed a crush on her. Soon we were engaged because I wanted to marry her at some point."

"You wanted to marry at four years old?" Ash asked.

"I was young! I didn't know what I was talking about! I had a crush on her and told her how I felt, but then I saw how controlling and overbearing she was. And my parents further pressured me into being committed to her. To this day I still have to deal with Jessibelle and her madness. Unable withstand it any longer, I ran away, leaving my lavish lifestyle behind as well as my beloved pet Growlithe, Growlie."

"Do you think that because of your heavily enforced, sheltered upbringing, as well as the constant harassment that you had to endure from Jessiebelle as a child, that maybe that's why you have an odd, somewhat submissive personality?"

"Do I really? Well, perhaps. I haven't really given it much thought…Anyway, like I said before, I attempted to enroll in Pokémon Tech Trainer's School, and flunked out and then joined the Sunny Town bicycle gang, where I was popular for being the only gang member to have to use training wheels, earning me the esteemed nickname "Trainer Jim".

Ash began to snicker. "You wore training wheels?

"I had to. Being the only son of a wealthy family I didn't have the tiny blessings you take for granted in a happy childhood. I didn't have friends or go to the playground. I never learned how to ride a bike. Simple little things I never partook of because my parents deemed it repugnant."

Ash stopped laughing. It wasn't funny anymore. James was right.

It was sad.

There was so much about his rivals he didn't know. Ash was starting to realize that he had a better life than the man before him and was even beginning to feel sorry for him!

"You already know Meowth's story. When he was younger, Meowth lived on the streets in Hollywood after he came there in search of fame and fortune. He was a member of a gang of street Meowth that was led by a Persian. The gang annoyed the humans in town, stealing food and causing trouble in general. One day, Meowth came across a female Meowth he called Meowzie. Since she rejected him and preferred the company of her rich human mistress, Meowth attempted to make himself stand out from other Meowth and become more human-like to make himself "worthy" of her. Thus, he painstakingly taught himself to speak human language and walk upright like a human. When he approached her after this transformation, she once again rejected him, calling him a freak. Heartbroken, Meowth remembered the first human word he learned to speak – "rocket" - and was inspired to join Team Rocket."

"You still haven't told me how you became a university professor," Ash interjected.

James nodded.

"Well, like I said, we had all documents of our past terminated. And as the years went by, Jessie and I became inseparable and we were betrothed for almost two years now. And since we no longer worked for Team Rocket, we each set out to do what we enjoyed. Jessie deep in her heart always dreamed of becoming a home decorator/interior designer as well as a model. So she's been doing a lot of that lately. Though, she won't be doing any of the modeling for quite some time now because of her condition."

"What condition?" Asked Ash.

James smiled. "She's pregnant with our first child."

Ash's mouth dropped.

"You…and…Jessie…" Ash cringed. He didn't need that mental image in his head.

James couldn't stop smiling. "It's a feeling I've not experienced before. The joys of being an expectant parent….of being a father…"

Ash tried desperately to get the image out of his head that would not leave.

"So…how far along is she?"

"8 months." James said proudly.

Ash hard swallowed. The image was starting to fade.

"Well…Congratulations to the both of you."

"Thank you, Ash. But it is shame…my child is going to have to grow up without grandparents."

"Why is that?"

"My parents disowned me for refusing to marry Jessiebelle."

"Are you serious?" Ash asked, shocked.

"I wouldn't have said it if it wasn't. My father called me an unworthy son. He says that I have been contaminated by Jessie because she wasn't part of our _'society'_." James said with disgust.

This was the first time Ash had seen James so enraged. Sure, he had been angered plenty times before, but there was a zealous passionate rage he had for his father.

"The nerve of them! All because Jessie wasn't rich. Well, I refused to marry Jessiebelle and when I told them I was marrying Jessie, my father tried to disinherit me. But I was over 21 and already an heir to the millions, so there was nothing he could do. But he said he wanted nothing to do with me. He said that if I wanted to hook up with _'classless trash'_ I was no son of his."

A moment of silence passed between the two of them. Ash had no idea how hard a life James and Jessie had it. And he was truthfully feeling sorry for them.

"…Wow, James…I'm sorry that that happened to you…that you had to go through that…I know that if my Mom disapproved of me marrying May, I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

James sobered up. "Oh…it's alright…hopefully when our child is born they'll come around."

He continued on walking. "Did you say you were getting married?"

Ash nodded. "Yep. To May."

"The brunette twerpette?"

"Her name is May," Ash said evenly.

James nodded. "Right. My apologies. Old habits and all…I'm happy for you."

"Thank you."

For a while, the two of them continued to walk in silence, until Ash broke it.

"So Jessie is a home decorator/interior designer…you're a university professor…what about Meowth? What happened to him?"

James' face lit up.

"I'll show you! His show should be ending anytime now."

"Show?" Ash questioned.

* * *

The audience applauded as the theme song for the popular talk show played in.

"What is this?" Ash asked.

"Shush!" James hushed as the two waited backstage for Meowth.

The camera shifted to the host and his guests seated on a large red sofa.

"Good mornin', everyone!" said a certain feline pokémon in a suit, "And welcome back to da Meeeeeeeeowth Show! My guests today are Harriet Nickels and Joe Robinson and dere two pokémon, Leipard and Houndoom. Now Harriet, why don't you'se tell our viewers here why you're here today?"

"Well," she began, "Joe and I are members of a breeding organization, and our pokémon are a part of the program. But for some reason my Leipard refuses to mate with his Houndoom."

"Doom! Doom!" _Damn right! _Joe's Houndoom agreed.

"Lei Leipard Lei!" _You disgust me!_ Harriet's Leipard replied.

Meowth scratched his chin.

"Hmm…dere seems to be some tension between dese two. Let me ask dem a couple a questions, then see if we'se can figure out why dese two aren't getting' along."

Meowth looked towards Leipard.

"Hello dere Leipard!"

"Lei Lei!" _Hello _she replied calmly.

"Can you'se please tell me why dere is so much tension between you'se two?"

Her eyes hardened. "Pard! Leipard Lei Pard!" _He's arrogant! He treats me with such disrespect!_

"Umhmm…"

"Doom Doom!"_ That's not true! She's just too prissy!_

"Leipard!" _How dare you? _she hissed.

"What are they saying, Meowth?" asked Harriet.

"Well, it seems your Leipard feels dat Houndoom is dis'wespecting 'er and Houndoom feels Leipard is too prim."

"Lei Lei Pard!" _Malicious creature! _

"DoomHound Doom!" _Why won't you even give me a chance?_

"Pard Leipard!" _Because you're not my type! So leave me alone!_

"Doom? DoomHounddoom?" _Oh? Then what is your type?_

Leipard hissed. "Leipard! _Females!_

Houndoom went into shock. His body became rigid and after a moment or so he started seizing on the show's stage.

"Houndoom!" Joe cried as the vets rushed on stage to take his pokémon to the hospital.

"What happening? What did they say?" Harriet ask scared and confused.

Meowth, equally shock at what came out of Leipard's mouth, struggled to find words.

"Umm….well….you see…"

Then, he got the signal to wrap it up.

_Halleluiah! _He thought.

"O-Okay folks! We'll be right back!" he said with a sweatdrop.

As the music played out, Meowth hurried backstage and washed his face.

"Oy, the tings I have tah listen tah to earn a livin'." He said as he wiped his face.

"Meowth!" A voice called from behind.

"Hm?" he turned around to see James and a young man with a Pikachu perched on his shoulder standing a few feet away.

"James!" Meowth exclaimed. He hopped off the stood he was standing on and ran right into his arms.

"Oh, Meowth! It's so good to see you."

"Good to see you'se too. How's the Misses?"

"Well and able. How about you?"

"Ah, I can't compwain."

"By the way, what did that Leipard say that caused that Houndoom to go into shock like that?"

Meowth sweatdropped. "Believe me, yah don't wanna know."

He then averted his gaze to Ash. "Wait a minute? Twerp is that you?"

"Hello, Meowth," Ash said with a fake smile.

"Hey, how is it that you remembered him, but I didn't?" James whined.

"A pokémon never forgets a face," he said pointing to his head, "How's it shakin', Pikachu?"

"Pikachu," he replied, slightly annoyed.

Just then, a man with a microphone on his head appeared behind the curtains. "Two minutes, Meowth."

"Oke-dokey," he replied, "Hey, I gotta go but I'll be seeing you'se and Jess at dinner tonight."

"Sounds like a plan to me," James said with a smile as he placed Meowth on the ground.

"See you later, twerp," he said as he made his way to his dressing room before running back onto set for his next guests.

"So Meowth's a talk show host?" Ash observed.

James nodded.

"Umhm. Very successful show too. People can't get enough of a talking Mewoth and hearing a pokémon's point-of-view. Most of the shows are just Meowth mediating and translating for trainers and their pokémon, but he does talk about other topics popular to talk shows nowadays."

The two of them watched in silence as Mewoth's theme song cut in.

James eyes lit up. "Hey! I just had a brilliant idea!. How about you and your gal, May, come on over to my mansion for dinner tonight?"

Ash was taken aback. "What?"

"Oh please! Think of it as a way for me to repay you for all the grief I've caused you two over the years. Jess would love to see you!"

_Are talking about the same Jessie?_

"Come on, Ash? Whatdayah say?"

Ash was stunned.

"…Well…I'll have to run it by with May…I don't think we have any classes so late…"

"Great! You and May can meet us at our mansion at 8:00. Here's our address," he handed Ash Jessie's business card which had on her name, phone, and address on it.

James clapped his hands. "Oh I can't wait! I'll see you tonight, Ash. I gotta get back to the university in time for my next period." James said as he exited the building of Meowth's talk show.

Ash and Pikachu were silent.

Was he really about to have dinner with his former nemesis?

* * *

**A/N:** As I said before I will try to update this in a timely manner. I apologize for the long wait.

And please don't forget to review!


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: **Hello Everyone! I know it has been three months since my last update, but I had to get this chapter just right. For those of you who are anxiously awaiting the update of _Fateful Journey_, I sincerely apologize. I had finished the chapter, I did. But my laptop crashed and is currently being repaired. As soon as it is fixed, I will publish Chapter 12. If I am unable to recover the document, I'll have no other choice but to rewrite the chapter, which will cause an even longer wait. So, again, I sincerely apologize for the delay.

But in the mean time, here's Chapter 15 of _The More Things Change_. I hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Ash, are you sure this was such a good idea?" May ask as she rang the doorbell.

"May, I have never been less sure about anything else in my life," Ash replied to his fiancée as the two of them and Pikachu (who was perched on Ash's shoulder) waited outside of James' mansion.

Ash couldn't believe he was actually about to sit down and have dinner with the very man who always stole his beloved Pikachu away from him.

After a minute or so of waiting, the front door to the stately estate opened. A gauntly old man stood before the two of them, dressed in a black suit and bowtie. He was lean and haggard. He was practically bald, with a few wiry white hairs, with pale skin, and droopy eyes. He wasn't sickly-looking per say, but he it was clear he was not in the best of health. He seemed to move in a languid manner.

The old man smiled as he gazed upon the youths before him.

"Ah…you must be Master James' guests, yes?"

"Uh, yes, Sir," Ash replied, not knowing what else to say to the fragile-looking man.

The old man opened the door wider. "Well, come in, come in. My name is Sebastian," he said as he led the two of them inside.

As they followed the wrinkled man inside, Ash and May's mouths hit the floor. The interior was simply breathtaking. Inside, a graceful staircase marked the two-story foyer, which opened to the astounding Grand Room, with its handsome fireplace. They could see part of the veranda from where they were standing, with an unusual outdoor fireplace. A third fireplace highlighted the spacious family room, which offered multiple doors to the patio. The island kitchen was perfect for even the pickiest chef. An oversized pantry was just steps away. There was even a handy elevator right in the middle of the extravagant staircase!

Ash and May could not believe their own eyes.

"Ash, they have a freakin' elevator in their home!" May squeaked as she continued survey the room.

"Forget the elevator. I'd kill to have a go in that swimming pool."

The old man centered himself in the middle of the foyer, "Master James, your guests have arrived."

About a moment or so later, James appeared at the top of the regal staircase. By his side was a quadrupled canine-like Pokémon. Its head was covered in a cream-colored hair, except for the region around its eyes and ears, which was orange. Its body was a combination of the same orange fur with black stripes and completely black fur on its belly. It also had patches of cream-colored fur on its chest, legs, and tail, resembling smoke. Each of its paws had three toes and a round pink paw pad underneath. A diamond-encrusted red collar surrounded its neck.

James smiled as he dismounted the steps. "Thank you, ole Methuselah."

The old man nodded in response as he made his way inside the kitchen.

James turned around to face his two visitors.

"I am so delighted that you could make it."

"Well, I did say I would come?" Ash said, a bit unsure of himself.

"That you did," he said cheerily. He looked down to his dear Pokémon. "You remember, Growlie?"

Ash's eyes bulged. "That's Growlie?"

James nodded. "Yes. He's grown since the last time you've seen him, yes? After claiming my millions I told my parents I would not leave their estate until my dear Growlie was once again under my care. It wasn't too long after that that he evolved. Say hello, Growlie."

The large fire-type Pokémon barked to greet his master's visitors.

James turned to face May, "You are Ash's betrothed, yes? What was your name? April? June?"

"May," she said firmly.

Again, James nodded. "May. Very pleased to see you again."

He extended his hand towards her for a handshake. At first, she eyed the hand with suspicion. But after a moment or so, she took his hand and weakly shook it.

James smiled. "Alright then. Shall I give the two of you a tour of my fine home?"

"Is that really necessary?" asked May.

"Why, yes. It's the very least I could do. Come with me, please." He said as he turned on his heels and started for the staircase, his Arcanine right at his side.

"Down here we have the spectacular master suite incorporated with a rounded sitting area, a fireplace and a fantastic bath with a discreet door to the foyer. Here, Jess and I have dual wardrobes and a stunning private bath complete with a raised tub graced by columns."

He continued on down the hallway, where several doorways awaited them.

"Here, we have a quiet library, a home study/computer center, a nifty wine room and wonderful guest quarters. We have yet another fireplace in our fun game room."

"Game room?" asked Ash.

"Yes. There we have pool tables, a built-in bar, and a round screened porch that makes for memorable parties. If there's even a slight lull, there's the adjacent theater for a special screening of the latest hit movie."

"Whoa!" Ash said, nearly drooling.

James nodded. "We even have a training room adjoined for our Pokémon. Would you like to see?"

"Would I!" Ash declared a little too excitedly.

"Ash," May hushed.

"Follow me," James said as he lead the way to the game room. Sure enough, the room was filled with pool tables, a widescreen high definition television, three deluxe sofas, two bookcases, and various other entertainment equipment. There was even the built-in bar he had mentioned earlier.

James made his way to a door beside the bar table.

"The training room is right in here," James said as he opened the door.

There were a series of exercise machines used for strength training and cardio training. Treadmills, dumbbells, bikes, punching bags, bench presses, and even rowers. To the far corner of the room there were three rather large bookcases. But instead of books, the shelves were stocked with potions, vitamins, and rare candies.

"Because of our schedules, Jess and I don't get to spend as much time with our pokémon as we'd like to. We came up with the resolve to install this training room, so that they can get the exercise and strength training they need to maintain a healthy lifestyle."

Some Pokémon were using the exercising machines while they were present in the room. James' Carnivine was seen trying to lift weights with its Vine Whip, most likely trying to improve the strength of its vines; and Jessie's Yanmega was seen having a Pokémon battle with a Cacturne.

"Hey James, when did you get your Cacnea back? I thought you left it with Gardenia in Sinnoh?"

"I did. But as fate would have it, the Eterna City Gym Leader appeared here in Hoenn in search for more exotic pokémon to add to her team. We ran into each other and after learning how strong Cacnea had grown since I had last seen it, she agreed to give it back to me. Needless to say how delighted I was. I greatly missed the little fellow. It evolved a week after I got it back."

James turned around and exited the room. When they were back in the hallway, he started for the staircase.

"Two of three secondary bedrooms we have show off wrought-iron railings on private balconies. Several baths, a flexible bonus room and a romantic sun deck round out the rest of the upper floor."

James then made his way into the kitchen, where his butler was busy preparing a meal for his boss and his guests.

"This is our spacious gourmet kitchen, where all of our fine meals are prepared." He led them to the glass French patio doors behind the magnificent white dining table.

"Jessie has a sheltered herb garden just out here."

Outside, there was a wraparound four-pillared veranda, with an unusual outdoor fireplace. A large elegant pool rested in the center of the grassy area. The nice clear breeze that Ash inhaled told him that he was near the ocean. The entire mansion was just outstanding.

"It's so beautiful!" May commented as she observed the various flora bushes surrounding the veranda.

"This part of the home was Jessie's doing. She wouldn't have it any other way. But the outdoor grille was my idea."

He motioned for the two of them to follow him back inside the house. He made his way back into the foyer.

"The expansive family gathering hall also boasts a dramatic fireplace…"

"How many fireplaces do you need, James?" Ash asked.

"You never know when you'll need the warmth and comfort of a burning fire. We have one in almost every room."

The sound of a woman's voice could be heard in a nearby room.

"Who is that?" asked May.

"Jess must have one of her clients over for look at the mansion," James said as he and his guests made his way over the family gathering room.

Jessie was seen circling the room in a long purple dress, with her Seviper wrapped around her neck like a boa. A woman was seen following behind her with a pen and notepad.

"This luxury house plan is one of our most popular plans. This two story house plan is designed around the heart of the home. In this case, the pool area is the heart of the home. This house plan provides a lavish view of the pool from any room in the house. The foyer opens to the casual living room, where we are now and an elegant dining room. Both rooms are defined by these round white columns. Our gourmet kitchen serves the breakfast room and dining room with entertaining conveniently in mind. The family room boasts a fireplace framed by built-ins. The secluded master suite opens to a grand sitting room with a magnificent view of the pool through a wall of windows. Upstairs, is occupied by several family bedrooms, a media room, and a game room. The grand view is taken in on the private balconies above."

The woman continued to jot things down on her notepad.

"It is a very nice home Ms. Rossdale, but I'm just not sure it's what my husband and I are looking for."

"Is it the decorating? You don't have to have your home styled exactly like this. We can develop a new design determined to meet the needs of you and your husband."

"I don't know…"

"Excuse me," James interrupted as he made his way to his wife's side.

"James, dear? What are you doing?" Jessie asked, clearly shocked that her husband just interrupted her meeting.

James wrapped his arm around Jessie shoulder.

"If I may interject, might I inquire about your family's cooking habits Mrs. Johnson? If your family is remodeling a kitchen, we can ask _Suisito_ _Cucina's_ restaurant about their target customer in order to pick an appropriate design. My wife has told me that you've been quite fond of their style and color palette. Jessie could also visit the space you were looking at and take inventory of the existing furniture and equipment as well as identify any potential design problems and the positive attributes. Isn't that right, honey?"

"Oh, yes…Yes, I could," Jessie said, a bit surprised.

The woman smiled. "That does sound nice…I do like the patio design as well."

"Well, how about you come back in two weeks?" James suggested, "We will formulate a design plan and estimate the costs on the basis of your goals and budget."

"That sounds like an excellent idea, James," Jessie answered with a smile, "Today, designs often are created with the use of computer-aids, which provides a more detailed layout and also allows for easier corrections than sketches made by hand. Once I have completed the proposed design, I will present it to you and your husband and make revisions on the basis of your input."

"That sounds like a plan to me, Ms. Rossdale," the woman replied with a smile.

"Ok, then," Jessie said as she started to lead the woman out to the foyer, "Come back again in two weeks or so. When the design concept has been finalized, I will begin specifying the materials, finishes, and furnishings required, such as furniture, lighting, flooring, wall covering, and artwork. In addition, depending on the complexity of the project, I will need to prepare drawings and submit them for architectural review and approval by a construction inspector to ensure that the design meets all applicable building codes. Ok?"

"Ok."

"Sebastian, show Mrs. Johnson out, please?"

"Yes, Madame," the old man replied has he led the woman to the front door.

Once she left, Jessie exhaled a sigh of relief. Her Seviper purred and nuzzled her face before slithering down and making her way up to her Trainer's bedroom.

"Oh, that woman is so difficult to please. Thank you, dear, for rescuing me back there," Jessie said as James approached her once more.

"That's what I'm here for, Jess. We're a team."

He kissed her softly on the cheek. She smiled, but it changed to a frown when she noticed the other people in her home.

"Hello? Who do we have here?"

James stepped back. "Ah, yes. Jess, this is Ash and his fiancée. I invited them over here for dinner tonight."

"No way. Twerp?"

"His name is Ash, dear. He doesn't like to be called that," James corrected. "I told him how we are no longer affiliated with Team Rocket. That we turned out lives around."

Jessie nodded. "Believe it or not twer…I mean, Ash…What James has said is true. We are no longer with that meaningless group. I'm amazed we even stayed for as long as we did."

James extended his hand towards May. "Honey, this is…"

"The Hoenn twerpette."

"You remember me?" May asked, clearly surprised.

"I never forget a rival Coordinator's face, deary," Jessie replied smugly.

Just then, the electronic pet door set into the front door slid opened, and the feline-like Pokémon known as Meowth entered the household.

"Good evenins', folks," Meowth said as he took off his leather dress shoes and grey suit. A green diamond-encrusted collar was revealed to be around his neck, hidden before by his suit.

"Meowth's wearing a collar just like Growlie," Ash observed, "Does this mean he's your pet as well?"

"Hey! I'm no one's pet, twerp. I jus' couldn't pass up de opportunity tah be sportin' dis stylish collar," he said, pointing to his expensive collar, "Hey, Sebastian, get dese here clothes in de wash, would yah?"

The butler who had answered the door earlier for Ash and May appeared from the kitchen and made his way over to Meowth.

"Of course, Sir," he said as he took the grey suit and put it on a hanger cushioned in a cream/silver cloth and put his shoes in a plush-lined shoe box.

"Meowth lives here with us at the mansion," James made clear, "We've always been together, so it seemed out-of-place not to have Meowth be a part of our family."

"And whata wonda'ful family dis is," Meowth said cheerily.

The butler referred to as Sebastian, straightened up as he carried Meowth's clothes and shoes up the staircase. He turned around before he mounted.

"Dinner is ready," he said, before making his way up the stairs.

"Alwight! I'm famished," Meowth said as he marched into the dining room.

James extended his hand towards the dining room. "Shall we?"

Ash and May exchanged glances as they followed behind the former Team Rocket grunts into their rather large family dining room. It seemed legit: Jessie, James, and Meowth had really turned their lives around for the better good and were no longer members of Team Rocket.

But no matter how righteous it seemed their lives were now, Ash didn't think he was going to be comfortable with this for a while. This was going to take some getting used to.

* * *

When they entered the family dining room, Ash and May were completely blown away by the quality of the wood and the beautiful finishes of the dining room set. The hutch and server were an amazing combination of functionality and beauty. The leather chairs had gorgeous finishes and were ridiculously comfortable. The hand carving on the table and chairs were exquisite. The table top featured a beautiful inlay pattern. And the beautiful fancy floor clock adorned the décor. It had impressive tubular triple-chime mechanism, an ivory colored dial with Roman numerals, polished brass rim matching the unique design, a filigree grid pendulum, polished brass tubes, a second-hand feature, and a tubular gong. It was an impressive addition to the other fine furniture and would definitely become a prized family heirloom."

"This furniture is gorgeous, James," May commented, extremely impressed.

"Why, thank you. I've always been quite fond of the Antoinette collection. It brings together a flawless blend of contemporary and traditional. The chairs were skillfully crafted from mahogany, cherry, and veneers with a hand-planed surface and hand carved edges. The rich hand carved leather chairs add sophistication and the hutch and curio gives it that extra touch of class. The rounded and curvilinear design furnishes a warm sentiment to my home, making it the perfect furniture for work and home. It is no doubt the finest space for any environment, yes? More than enough room for all my fine crystal and china, plus more."

"Jeez, Sebastian'. Dis Pokéfood is de best I eva tasted," Meowth complemented.

"Thank you, Sir. I try my best," The old man said as he poured iced tea into May's glass.

James motioned towards his butler. "Oh, Methuselah?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"Would you mind adding a little more sugar to my tea, please?"

"Right away, Sir," the old man replied as he took the teacup and saucer from his employer and made his way back over to the cooking area.

"James? Why do you keep calling him, Methuselah? I thought his name was Sebastian?" asked May, who was thoroughly enjoying her Shrimp Alfredo Pasta.

"Oh, his name is Sebastian. But I've been calling him ole Methuselah since I was a little lad. It's a little cherished sobriquet that I gave him."

"Sobriquet?"

"Nickname." He replied.

"Why?" Ash asked. He was also enjoying his meal.

"Well, see…the old fellow used to work for my parents at their mansion. If you recall, Ash, you met Sebastian once before in Sinnoh, when he, instructed under strict orders from my parents, captured me and tried to force me to marry Jessiebelle."

"That two-bit no good floozy," Jessie grumbled.

"Jess…" James said as he placed a hand over his wife's.

"No James! That sleazy woman has been nothing but trouble!"

James rubbed her hand, and then brought it to his lips for a kiss.

"I remember that. That was when we found that treasure chest of yours," Ash recalled.

James rested his wife's hand back down on the dinner table, but he continued to hold her hand.

"As horrific as that entire ordeal was for me, I knew he was only following my parents' orders. Ole Methuselah has always had a certain fondness for me. Being their only child, he constantly worried about my future, especially because everything I ever did for my parents was never good enough. So, when my parents' plan ultimately failed, he expressed his concerns that maybe marrying Jessiebelle was not what was best for me. After all, that was the main reason I left. Yeah, Jessiebelle's obsession and unrealistic demands scared me, but my parents drove me away with their incessant naggings and trying to force me to marry someone I didn't want to be committed to. At first, they thought Sebastian was just going senile and so they requested that he once more try again to apprehend me. But he would have none of it. He said he would rather die than to be forced to betray my trust again. Realizing that he was serious in what he was saying, my parents, thoroughly disgusted, called him insubordinate and fired him. It wasn't until I went to claim my fortune and requested the whereabouts of my favorite butler that my parents told me that the old man was _'relieved of his duty'_. I also learned that my parents made sure that he would never find work again. If they couldn't have him, no one could…"

James slammed his fist on the table, slightly unnerving everyone at the table.

James exhaled loudly. "…I found him a few weeks later at a soup kitchen…I couldn't believe that my parents…my own parents…could be capable of something so underhanded…so malice…so evil!"

It was Jessie's turn to hold her husband's hand. He seemed to calm down at the touch. Smiling and looking into her Caribbean blue eyes, he kissed her hand once more and turned back to face his guests.

"Because of my sheltered upbringing I never learned to become truly independent. And if I was going to achieve that goal I was going to need some help along the way. I needed to learn how to cook, how to clean, how to take care of myself and my family…I needed a butler…I needed Methuselah…"

The old man gingerly placed the teacup and saucer down in front of James. The two of them exchanged smiles before Sebastian went back to continue with his duties.

"I told Sebastian that I was claiming my millions, and that I would be moving into a mansion of my own. I needed a butler to help me take care of things around the house…and he humbly accepted…"

James wiped at the invisible tear that started to well up in his eyes.

"As far as I can remember, I've been with the old man since the day I was born…He was more like a father to me that my own father was…Sebastian was sixty eight years old when he started working for my parents. He continued to work for them for thirty five years – five years before I was born, and thirty years afterwards until they so disrespectfully let him go."

"That would make him one hundred and three years old," May said, astonished.

James nodded. "And he's been working for me for almost two years now, which would make him one hundred and five. Now do you see why I call him ole Methuselah? As advanced in age as he is, he is still able to move around on his own two feet and effectively get his work done every day."

"Wow…that's…some...story…James," Ash said, still a bit unsure of his 'former' enemy.

The _Essex _fancy grandfather clock played its Whittington chime, signaling that it was 8:00.

James smiled. "Ah, it is time."

He motioned over to his butler, who came right away.

"Methuselah, would you get my gift from the other room for me, please. It's resting in the family room near the chesterfield."

"Yes, Master James." He said with a nod.

"Oh, Sebastian, would you retrieve mine's too? It's in the bedroom."

"Yes, Madame Jessie," he said, nodding to her as well before leaving the room.

"Gifts?" Ash questioned.

"Yes. We're celebrating our anniversary today," James answered.

"But earlier today, you told me it hadn't been two years yet?"

James nodded. "Well, because that was this morning. Jessie and I had an evening wedding. Our anniversary doesn't officially start until 8:00, which is the time now."

Sebastian returned moments later with two shopping bags, one small and one quite large. He handed the large one to James and the smaller one to Jessie.

"Thank you, Methuselah," James answered, "That is all."

Sebastian nodded his head and took his post back on the other side of the room.

"Happy anniversary, dear," James said as he passed the bag to Jessie.

Placing her smaller bag on the table, she took out his gift – a beautifully wrapped box.

Carefully unwrapping it, she discovered a large velvet box. When she opened it, her hand flew to her mouth.

Inside the box was a large impressive elegant diamond necklace. It suspended a detachable pendant set with a pear-shaped diamond weighing 32.28 carats, which was surmounted by a pear-shaped diamond weighing 6.36 carats (double pendant), each within a micro pavé-set diamond surround, to the eight-row collet-set diamond chocker. The chocker's inner circumference was 34 cm; the pendant was 5.5 cm long. The pear-shaped pendants each concealed a gemstone within the diamond casing – the first one that hung from the diamond necklace and the smaller of the two was a cornflower blue sapphire gemstone outlined in diamonds; the second pendant that hung under the first and the larger of the two was an amethyst gemstone, also outlined in diamonds.

Tears welled in Jessie's eyes as she looked at the extravagant necklace. May was also in awe and Ash was speechless – that had to be the most expensive-looking necklace he'd ever seen!

James smiled. "I remember a few months ago when we were shopping for some furniture to put in the baby's room – when you saw the coronation of Princess Sara of the Mirage kingdom on the television and how you too desired to be named queen. Now, I may not be able to officially make you a queen, but I damn sure want you to feel like one. The layered diamonds on this necklace signifies your royalty in the Rossdale family dynasty. The blue sapphire personifies my love for you and commemorates the vows I made to you on our wedding day. The amethyst that hangs below it further exemplifies my love for you. At first, I was going to choose the second gemstone to be a pink sapphire, but do you know why I decided to choose amethyst instead? It's because of what it symbolizes. Because of the amethyst's romantic and beautiful charming gloss; it's representation of nobility, elegance, luxuriance, solemnity and power, and the beautiful legend of its romantic color. It is also because it's your birthstone, my dear. I hope this gift fully embodies the everlasting love I have for you. Happy Anniversary, Jess."

Tears continued to stream down Jessie's face as she placed the elegant necklace back into its velvet box.

Getting up from his seat, James went over to his wife. He took the necklace out of the box and placed it around her neck.

"I want you to feel like a queen, every day for the rest of your life."

He then placed his hands on her shoulders.

Placing her hands over his, Jessie stood up and wrapped her arms around her husband for a passionate kiss, making their guests (May, Ash, and Pikachu) very uncomfortable.

It was several moments before the kiss ended.

"Thank you, James. It's beautiful," Jessie was finally able to get out.

James smiled as he gave her one more kiss on the lips.

"You should sit back down. Here, let me help you." James began.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," Jessie objected, "Not until you open your gift."

She scooped up the shopping bag off of the table and excitedly handed it to him.

"Happy Anniversary, dear!"

Still smiling, James opened the small bag. He took out the tiny shiny golden box that was inside it.

Opening the box, James' eyes widened.

"Oh My God!" he shouted, "I can't believe it!"

"What is it, James?" Meowth asked.

"A rare 1890 Bomba Island Jolteon pilfer proof crown bottle cap!" James said excitedly, "Each cap was decorated with an image of a pokémon, its number in the Pokedéx, and its name in Thai. Only ten of these were ever made and even fewer sold!"

"He's this hyped-up over a bottle cap?" May whispered to Ash.

"He has a thing for them," Ash whispered back.

"The paint is a little glossy, though not overly so. It's in excellent shape; no defects…There are some visible scratches but…"

James turned his head sharply as he looked up at his wife.

"Where on Earth did you find this? I only possessed two of these before and Meowth sold them both."

"Hey, we needed da money!" Meowth retorted, "I had tah sell somethin'."

"Not my rare crown bottle cap collection! They only made ten of these and sold even fewer!"

"Yeah, we'se heard you'se da first time," Meowth said, clearly annoyed.

James turned his attention back to his wife.

"Jess, how did you do it?"

Jessie flipped her hair. "Oh, it was nothing, dear. I knew someone, who knew someone who knew someone, who knew someone who knew someone's cousin who possessed this bottle cap. At first, the boy didn't want to give it up. He said he'd die before he gave up his great great great great grandfather's prized bottle cap. But one way or another, I got it and here it is."

Meowth was a little nervous. "Uh, Jess…what did you'se do tah get da poor boy tah hand it ova?"

"Who cares? What matters is that my dear James has yet another priceless bottle cap to add to his collection."

"Indeed, I do!" he said as he grabbed Jessie and gave her a large peck on the lips. He then motioned to his butler once again.

"Oh, Methuselah! Get my display box! Hurry!"

"Yes, Master James," the old man replied as left the room and went up the staircase to retrieve his employer's valuable collection.

Meowth was still concerned. "But, Jess…you'se just said dat da boy who had dat dere bottle cap said he'd die before he gave it up…What did yah do tah convince him?"

"Meowth, I said it didn't matter," she said sharply, eyeing the cat-like pokémon angrily.

"But Jess…"

"Enough Meowth!" James shouted, "You're starting to upset Jessie. You know what the doctor said."

"But James…"

"No! Jessie has to remain calm and relaxed. Stress increases the risk of pre-term labor!"

"But…"

"No more, Meowth!" James ordered.

"Oy," Meowth sighed. He looked back up at Jessie, only to that vainglorious look on her face. He still felt uneasy about how she obtained the rare bottle cap, but dared not to agitate his pals any more than he already had.

Sebastian returned holding James' black velvet bottle cap display case. It was constructed of a hard black vinyl board frame with a glass top window lid with fiber fitting.

Gingerly opening up the case, James placed his treasured item inside before carefully closing the case. The Jolteon bottle cap was held in place by the gently pressure from the fiber filling, which pushed it against the glass top, which was locked to the base using a chrome locking pin system.

"Oh, this is just splendid!" James squealed, "I can't wait to see the faces on the other Crowncap Collectors Society International members when I tell them I have the rare1890 Bomba Island Jolteon pilfer proof crown bottle cap, where only ten of them were ever made and even fewer sold! Oh, ole George will be livid! His vintage Zebstrika bottle cap doesn't have anything on my venerable 1890 Jolteon pilfer proof bottle cap!"

"Enough already, James! You'se giving me a headache!" Meowth complained, holding his head.

James held his wife's hands.

"Oh, thank you, dear!" he said giving her a peck on both cheeks.

"Thank you so much!"

"Anything for you, sweetie." She replied with a warm smile.

James let go of her hands.

"Oh, I'm so overwrought! I just want to gather my pokémon and run all the way to Mt. Chimney!"

"Please, don't," Jessie said, seriously.

"I gotta better idea," Meowth interjected, "How's 'bout you'se and da twerp have a pokémon battle right here?"

"What?" Ash exclaimed, clearly shocked.

James spun around. "That's an excellent idea Meowth!"

Ash was still shocked. "Wait, I…I don't know about…"

"I'm so pumped with energy right now, I'm about to explode! Oh, come on, Ash! Will you have a battle with me?"

Ash felt uneasy. He looked at May for support, but she was just as surprised as he was.

James clasped his hands.

"Please, Ash? Battle me and my pokémon? Please?"

* * *

Ash wasn't quite sure what he was getting into. First he agreed to enter the home of the man and woman that used to steal his pokémon for a living. Now he was about to engage in a pokémon battle with that very being.

"This will be a three-on-three pokémon battle," Sebastian began as he held two red flags in his hand, "The trainer that wins two of those three battles will be the winner. Trainers, choose your pokémon."

James took out a pokéball and tossed it into the air. "Come on out, Leafeon!"

When the ball popped opened, an Eeveelution that bore similarities to both cats and foxes materialized on the field. Its body was tan-colored. It had one shade of dark brown as its eye color, as the color of its inner ears, and that was carried out on the tip of its paws. There were sprouts growing all over its body, making it look more like a plant. It also had a longer sprout of its forehead and its ears and tail both shared a leaf-like quality.

"I'm sure you remember this little Poké of mine?" James asked with a smile.

Ash nodded. "From Orre, right?"

"Yes. But it has since become stronger. As I stated before, I don't get to spend as much time with my pokémon as I wish, but I certainly have much more time with them than I did when I was working for Team Rocket. I've spent what little time I do have training them. So don't expect to win this match so easily."

"Yeah, right," Ash said as he took out a pokéball, "I've beaten you many times before…This one's no different. Come on out, Typhlosion!"

At the snap of the pokéball, a quadruped-like pokémon capable of bipedal movement materialized on the field. It had a somewhat bearlike physique, with bulky thighs and a collar of fiery vents surrounded its neck. Its ears were thin. Its face, underside, arms, and legs were a shade of cream, and its back was dark blue. Its fur was very coarse and highly flame-retardant, giving it an extreme resistance to heat and fire attacks. On its rear was a spiky, coarse fringe of its back fur.

James smiled. "I see your Quilava evolved."

"Yeah, but it's also gotten stronger." Ash replied. As if to punctuate his point, Typhlosion gave a load roar and flames ignited from the ring of fiery vents surrounding his neck and shoulders.

Sebastian held both red flags above his head, before waving them down. "Let the battle begin!"

"Perhaps you would like to make the first move?" James suggested.

"Humph. Gladly," Ash said as he prepared to give his pokémon an order. "Typhlosion! Use Quick Attack!"

A trail of white energy followed behind the fire-type pokémon as he began running at fast speeds towards his opponent.

James smiled. "Quick Guard, Leafeon!".

Leafeon's eyes glowed bright red as her body became outlined in a red outline. A pulsating bright red energy shield appeared in front of the leaf on her head and surrounded her, protecting herself from Typhlosion's attack.

"What?" Ash exclaimed.

"I told you not to expect to win so easily," James said smugly.

May's mouth dropped as she watching from the spectators section. "How…How is that even possible?"

"Wit' hardcore trainin' and plenty of vitamins," Meowth answered as he and Jessie watched as well.

"Now use, Leaf Blade!" James ordered.

While the barrier was up, Leafeon started to float in the air. The leaf on her head changed in color and it start to glow a light green as well as her tail, and they formed into long blades. Then, Leafeon somersaulted to the ground and hit Typhlosion squarely in the face with her tail.

The attack caused Typhlosion to skid backwards, but didn't do much damage because of its type effectiveness.

"You okay, Typhlosion?' Ash asked his pokémon.

The Johto starter pokémon responded with a roar.

"Alright then," Ash nodded, "Use Flamethrower!"

The flames on his neck ignited once more as a stream of red-orange fire was released from his mouth.

James wasn't fazed. "Use X-Scissor!"

The grass-type pokémon quickly leaped into the air. The leaf on her head and tail once more began to glow, only this time it glowed light blue. Crossing her tail and the leaf on her head in front of her body, she fell towards the battle floor. As she did this, a purple/light-blue 'X'- like energy appeared in front of the cross she made with her tail and the leaf on her head. After her landing, the stream of fire was divided four ways as it went passed the 'X', protecting Leafeon.

"I've never seen X-Scissor used like that before," Ash observed. Then grinding his teeth, he gave his pokémon another command.

"Use Aerial Ace, Typhlosion!"

Typhlosion roared as he ignited the flames surrounding his neck and jumped into the air. His body then became surrounded in white streaks, allowing him to fly through the air. He quickly charged towards his opponent.

"Leafeon, combine Hidden Power with Leaf Blade!"

Leafeon's body became outlined in light blue and multiple light blue orbs surrounded and spiraled around her body. With eyes glowing, Leafeon combined all the little circles into one huge orb that formed in front of her body. Then, just as before, the leaf on her head and her tail began to glow a light green and formed into long blades. With a cry, Leafeon rocketed through the orb, and the energy inside the orb absorbed into the leaf on Leafeon's head and tail, and its glow changed from light green to a brilliant cyan blue.

As the two pokémon got closer, Leafeon snapped her head and forming an 'X' with her tail and the leaf on her head again, delivered her blow as the two attacks collided.

At the first, the attacks seemed evenly matched in power. However, the energy that was suppressed inside of Leafeon unleashed and blasted Typhlosion. The fire-type cried out in agonizing pain as the powerful attack sent him flying to the other side of the battlefield.

"Typhlosion!" Ash cried.

James flicked his hair. "Let's finish this up with Solarbeam, Leafeon."

Leafeon's mouth began to glitter gold as she gathered energy.

"Quick Typhlosion! Use Eruption!"

Typhlosion grunted as he struggled to get up on his hind legs, the fiery vents on his neck glowing bright red. He tried to ignite flames on his collar but he just felt too weak to do so and red glow faded away.

"Oh no," Ash whispered.

A light green golden beam was released from Leafeon's mouth and directed towards Typhlosion. The attack hit its mark as it Typhlosion was slammed into the rear wall.

"Typhlosion!" Ash cried.

As the dust cleared, Typhlosion had spirals for eyes – the clear indication of a knockout.

Sebastian raised the flag to his right. "Typhlosion is unable to continue! Victory goes to Master James!"

James closed his eyes and nodded.

"Phenomenal job, Leafeon," James praised his pokémon.

"Leaf!" She replied back.

Ash recalled his fainted pokémon back into his pokéball, "You were great, Typhlosion."

Ash frowned as he put the pokéball up. Since when has he ever lost to James?

May couldn't believe her eyes. Ash lost in a pokémon battle against James? James! From Team Rocket!

"I…I don't understand," May said confused.

"It's very simple twerpette," Meowth said matter-of-factly, "Dat overconfident boyfriend of yours got cocky and thought dat because he had beatin' my pal so many times in da past, dat dis battle would turn out da same."

"But he had the advantage?"

"So? Traveling wit' dat twerp for as long as you'se have, you'se should know by now dat type isn't everything and dat dere are ways of ovacoming it. Take James' Leafeon, for example. Knowing dat da twerp relies heavily on speed, he used Leafeon's Quick Guard as a way tah counteract dat. And since, Leafeon's grass-type moves are not very effective against a fire-type like Typhlosion, he decided tah use dem as shields, like that X-Scissor, which is a bug-type move and not very effective against Typhlosion. Also, yah gotta keep in mind the Hidden Power strategy James used."

"What do you mean?" asked May.

"Yah know that Hidden Power's type and effectiveness varies from pokémon tah pokémon. Well, Leafeon's Hidden Power just happens to be water-based, which mean it has the same effectiveness as a water-type move."

"And Typhlosion is a fire-type," May added.

"Right. So, James decided tah use dat water-based power against Typhlosion, and once he had weakened it enough, delivered the final crushing blow wit' a Solarbeam."

May nodded, understanding, but she was still visibly upset. Team Rocket had never been this strong before. This newfound power meant that there was a real chance that Ash could actually lose the entire battle.

"Way to go, Honey!" Jessie yelled as she waved lovingly at her husband.

James waved back to her as he recalled his pokémon.

"You really shouldn't underestimate me because of the evident weakness I possessed in the past. I'm a changed man with a changed life. As you can see it will not be so easy to beat me this time around."

Ash growled as Sebastian held up the two red flags once more.

"Trainers, choose your next pokémon."

"Alright!" Ash exclaimed, "Go, Lucario!"

As the pokéball snapped opened, a predominantly blue and black bipedal jackal-like pokémon appeared on the field. Its forepaws were black and one white spike was on each arm on the upper-side of its wrists. A third spike was on its chest and it had a cream-colored furry torso.

"Alright! He chose Lucario! Now he might be able to turn this match around," May said, excitedly.

"We'll see," Meowth replied as he looked at the battle field.

Again, James smiled. "Is that the little Riolu you captured in Orre?"

"Yep, and just like you, we've done a ton of training since then, so look out!" Ash responded.

"Oh, I beg to differ, for it is you who will be doing the looking out," James said as he took out his second pokéball, "Let's go Skuntank!"

The pokéball popped opened, and a medium-sized mammalian Pokémon that was dark purple with a white stripe running down its back materialized. Its appearance was slightly cat-like with fangs. Its cheeks had a tan coloration. The whiskers present on its pre-evolution have since vanished and have been replaced by furry purple tufts on either sides of its face. Its legs were tan, and the tan coloration of its underside now formed a spiky pattern. It's most notable and obvious feature, however, was its long fluffy tail laid out on its backs and over its faces.

"Skuntank? You're choosing Skuntank? You do know that its poison attacks won't have any effect on my Lucario?" Ash pointed out.

James smirked. "Who said anything about me using Poison-type attacks?"

Ash slightly narrowed his eyes.

Sebastian held up the two red flags and waved them. "Round two commence! Battle begin!"

"Lucario! Use Aura Sphere!"

Lucario put his paws together and a blue ball of energy formed between them as he ran towards his opponent.

James bowed his head.

"Alrighty Skuntank! Let loose you noxious gases and let them feel the full wrath of your Stench!"

The skunk-like Pokémon cried as a purple orb appeared on the tip of his tail. He then fired the purple orb at his opponent, causing a purple foul-smelling fog to appear.

Lucario stopped dead in his tracks as the potent odor went up his nostrils. His eyes grew wide and he cringed. The sphere of aura he held between his paws quickly dispelled as the fighting-type pokémon put his paws over his nose, crying from the foul stench.

"Oh my God!" Ash said, as tears started to well in his eyes, "What the hell is that?"

"It's Skuntank's special ability, Stench," James answered, "Quite foul-smelling, isn't it?"

From the onlookers section, the other three onlookers also held their noses.

"Oh my God, that's awful!" May cried.

"It doesn't matta how many times he's used dis gambit. It's still jus' as potent as eva," Meowth gagged.

"James! Get that nauseating stench out of my house now!" Jessie screamed from her seat.

"I'm sorry, Jess. But I can't do that just yet," He replied, "Now Skuntank! Illuminate this room by firing a glorious Flamethrower!"

"Flamethrower?" Ash exclaimed, shocked.

Skuntank breathed in red energy and released a stream of red-orange stream of fire from his mouth. The noxious fog surrounding Lucario was engulfed in flames. The fighting/steel-type pokémon cried out in agonizing pain as he was enveloped in flames.

"Lucario!" Ash screamed.

"Oh no! That's super-effective against Lucario!" May gasped as she continued to look on.

"Hang in there, Lucario!" Ash encouraged his pokémon.

As the flames died down, Lucario could be seen weakly standing, smoke rising from his fur into the air.

"Lucario took a lot of damage from that last attack," May said, clearly worried.

"Yep…Looks like James's got dis match won," Meowth said proudly.

Exhausted, Lucario fell to his knees, causing May to gasp once more and Jessie and Meowth to smile and watch with anticipation of James' win.

"Lucario, are you okay?" Ash asked from where he was standing. "Come on, Lucario. We've been in tighter spots than this before. I know you can do this."

Weakly, Lucario stood back on his feet. He sneered as he eyed his opponent, then offered a very loud cry.

"Alright! I knew you could do it, Lucario!" Ash praised.

"How's it still standing?" Jessie questioned as she looked on in disbelief.

"Through patience and perseverance," May said, excitedly.

James shook his head with a smile. "It always amazes me how much fortitude your pokémon possesses no matter how grim the situation is looking."

"That's how powerful the bond between pokémon and trainer can be," Ash declared, "This battle is not over yet!"

"No, but it will be soon," James said, "Now Skuntank use Flamethrower!"

Skuntank fired a stream of red-orange fire from his mouth towards Lucario.

"I couldn't agree more," Ash added, "Lucario! Bone Rush!"

Lucario put his paws together and spread them apart, creating a light green bone of energy.

Then quickly spiraling the bone of energy between his paws, Lucario blocked the attack. After the attack ceased, Lucario jumped into the air and swung his energy-filled bone at his opponent. The attack hit its mark as Skuntank was knocked to the far side of the room.

"Oh no, Skuntank!" James cried.

"Great job, Lucario! Now use Force Palm!" Ash ordered.

Lucario then ran towards Skuntank, his paws glittering gold. Then, quickly putting his palm on Skuntank's head, a huge light green blast was fired from his paw and struck Skuntank.

The malodorous pokémon cried out in pain as he slammed into the wall behind his trainer.

"Skuntank!"

Skuntank moaned as he struggled to get to his feet.

"Quick Skuntank! Use Night Slash!"

Skuntank's claws glowed light purple and he weakly but hastily made his way toward his opponent.

"Let's wrap this up," said Ash, "Lucario! Aura Storm!"

"Aura Storm? What is dat?" Meowth said, somewhat nervous.

"Just watch and see," May said knowingly.

Lucario closed his eyes as he began to mediate on his aura. His body was outlined in light blue energy.

"Hit it, Skuntank!"

Just as Skuntank was about to slash Lucario with his glowing claws, the jackal-like pokémon swiftly jumped high into the air. Positioning himself directly above Skuntank, Lucario unleashed the aura he stored as a powerful beam.

Skuntank's eyes enlarged as the powerful came crashing down on him.

"Skuntank!" James cried as he looked on in horror.

Skuntank's piecing screech could be heard from until the beam of aura. After a few more moments, the power of the aura caused an explosion. Lucario landed on the ground shortly afterwards.

After the smoke cleared, Skuntank could be seen lying on the ground, the spirals in his eyes indicating he could no longer continue fighting.

"Skuntank is unable to continue," Sebastian declared, "Victory goes to Ash Ketchum!"

"Alright! Way to go, Lucario! I knew you could do it!" Ash praised his pokémon.

"Lu…"

May pumped her fists. "He did it! He won!"

"Yeah, yeah. The match isn't over yet, twerpette. They still have one more battle to do," Jessie said.

"My name's May," she replied evenly.

James recalled his pokémon back into his pokéball. "You fought well, Skuntank. Now take a nice long rest."

James put the pokéball up as he looked at his opponent. "Well done, Ash. I wasn't expecting to lose that one. I see you still have a few tricks in your bag."

Ash also recalled his pokémon. "Well, you're not too shabby yourself there, James."

Sebastian announced. "Trainers, choose your final pokémon."

Ash looked down to his side where Pikachu was standing, "Alright, buddy. You ready?"

"Pika!" he said as he ran onto the field.

"So, you're choosing Pikachu?" James asked.

"That's right. Let's see you try to get passed the pokémon that's been beating your butt for eleven years."

"Pika!" Sparks flew off Pikachu's cheeks.

"Oh, this is going to be a grand battle," James said as he crossed his arms, "Since you're using Pikachu, I guess I'll be using my very first pokémon as well. Growlie?"

The canine-like pokémon, who had been sitting off to the side with his Mistress, leisurely walked onto the battle field.

Just as before, Sebastian held the two red flags in the air before waving them down.

"Battle begin!"

Ash wasted no time in launching his attack. "Pikachu! Use Quick Attack!"

A light blue trail of energy followed behind Pikachu as he began charging towards his opponent.

James closed his eyes and bowed his head. "You're so predictable."

"Hm?" Ash furrowed his brow.

James reopened his eyes as he prepared to instruct his pokémon.

"Now Growlie! Use Dig!"

The large pokémon cried as he began burrowing into the ground with his front paws. He disappeared moments later under the earth.

Pikachu skidded to a halt.

"Stay on your toes, Pikachu!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu's ears began flexing as he tried to see if he could track Arcanine's movements underground.

"Hyper Beam!"

The ground underneath Pikachu began to crumble away. Sensing that Arcanine was beneath him Pikachu jumped in the air to dodge. But just as Arcanine came to the surface, an orange orb formed at his mouth and a yellow-orange beam was released.

The attack sent Pikachu skyrocketing in the air. He cried as he fell hard on the ground.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried.

Arcanine placed himself in front of his master once more.

"Are you okay, buddy?" Ash asked his pokémon.

"Pi…" Pikachu weakly got to his feet, then shook off the dust on his body and cried out, "Pika!"

Ash nodded. "Alright. Use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu released a powerful bolt of yellow electricity from his body at Arcanine.

"Flare Blitz, Growlie!"

Arcanine's body became surrounded in red-orange flames. The flames deflected the attack.

"Quick Pikachu, use Electro Ball!"

Pikachu's body became surrounded in yellow electricity and multiple sparks flew off of his body. All the electricity then condensed at Pikachu's tail and formed into an orange-yellow orb of electricity with sparks of yellow electricity coming off. Pikachu then jumped into the air and did a front flip, throwing the orb of electricity at his opponent.

Arcanine began charging towards his opponent, shooting off like a missile at top speeds. As he was charging, the fire surrounding him changed in color, from red to light blue. A stream of light blue fire trailed behind him.

The Electro Ball dissipated as it came into contact with the harsh flames.

Ash grimaced. "Quick, Pikachu! Dodge it!"

Pikachu quickly jumped into the air, barely evading the attack.

Arcanine skidded to a halt. Red and light blue sparks surrounded his body as he took recoil damage.

"Now Pikachu! Use Iron Tail!"

White sparkles surrounded Pikachu's tail as his tail started to glow white.

"Heat Wave, Growlie!" James ordered.

Arcacnine opened his mouth and a white flame was created inside it. He released a round orange flame with additional orange flames spiraling around it at his opponent.

"Dodge it, Pikachu!"

With nowhere to go suspended in the air, Pikachu tried to use his Iron Tail as a shield. But he failed as the Heat Wave overpowered him and sent him crashing towards the ground.

"Oh no, Pikachu!" Ash cried.

James flicked his hair once more before crossing his arms.

"Let's finish this, Growlie, with Giga Impact!"

Arcanine roared as he began charging towards Pikachu. Yellow-orange energy covered his body as a purple energy sphere surrounded Arcacnine and swirled around him.

"Pikachu, buddy, you gotta get up!" Ash goaded on.

Pikachu grunted as he got to his feet.

Ash grimaced. "We don't have any other choice. Use Volt Tackle, Pikachu!"

Pikachu's body was engulfed in golden electricity. He then began charging towards his opponent, his body looking black and white as he did.

As the two pokémon collided, the energy between the two combined attacks increased and soon created a huge explosion. Both pokémon cried out in pain as they spiraled in opposite directions. They hit the ground and bounced off of it three times before skidding across the ground and stopping with a thud.

As the smoke cleared, Arcanine was seen weakly standing on his feet, while Pikachu lay on the battlefield, knockout with the spirals for eyes.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Victory goes to Arcanine! Master James is the winner!" Sebastian announced as he raised the flag in James' direction.

"He did it! He won!" Jessie yelled as she jumped to her feet, in spite of her large and heavy belly.

"I knew he would do it," Meowth said as he too began cheering.

May just sat dumbfounded. She couldn't believe Ash had lost.

James knelt down to his childhood friend. "You did well, Growlie…Splendid, my friend."

The fire-type pokémon nodded in thanks. "Aroo!"

Pikachu lowered his ears in disappointment.

Ash picked up his pokémon, consulting him. "You were awesome, buddy. Sorry I let you down."

"PikaPi…"

Ash smiled at his pokémon. He saw James and his pokémon approaching him.

"That was an excellent battle, Ash," James said as he extended his hand towards him.

Holding Pikachu in one hand, Ash shook James' hand with his free hand.

"Yeah…You finally beat me…After all these years."

James shrugged. "Well, it's like your gal said. Through patience and perseverance, the sky's the limit. That's how strong the bond between me and my pokémon is."

Jessie, May, and Meowth joined the other two on the battlefield.

"That was wonderful, sweetie. You did an amazing job," Jessie said as she hugged her husband.

"Yeah, James. You'se improving more as a trainer faster dan the ratins' on my talk show."

"Thank you both. But it's Ash here who's brought out the best in me."

Ash nervously began rubbing the back of his neck.

"Excuse me, Sir," Sebastian interjected, "May I carry your tired pokémon up to the healing room to revitalize them?"

"Yes," James handed the old man the two pokéballs that held his Leafeon and Skuntank, "Thank you, Methuselah."

"As you wish, Master James," he replied as he headed out of the training room, "Come along, Growlie."

"Arro," said the dog-like pokémon as he followed the butler out of the room.

"Hey, Sebastian? You'se tink you'se could draw me one of dose long, reaxin', baths with dose scented soaps the Misses uses?" Meowth asked as he followed behind him.

Jessie shook her head. She then gave her husband a light kiss on the lips. "I'm going to go get ready."

"Ok," James said. He watched her leave before turning his attention back to his guests. "Jess and I are going to attend a formal meeting at the University. We'd be delighted if you could join us?"

Ash shook his head.

"Sorry but I'm backed up with homework." Ash had never been so happy to say 'no'.

James nodded in understanding.

"Some other time perhaps. But you did remind me that I forgot to give you your syllabus with your assignments earlier today."

Ash's face dropped. _Aww man! More work?_

"Come with me," James said as he led them out of the training room.

Entering the family gathering room, James walked over to a table that was situated beside one of his many bookshelves. He returned with three textbooks and a very long syllabus.

"This is your syllabus for the course. It has the pages and chapters you will be expected to have covered before you come to my class. The dates of all exams are also there. I have provided an outline of what is expected on the final exam and my contact information is in there as well."

He handed them to handed, who reluctantly took them from him.

"Here are the textbooks you will need. I decided to save you the trouble of waiting in that long line at the campus library."

"Gee…Thanks, James," Ash said, not particularly enthused at the additional work he now has to do.

James nodded. "Now, just because we have a history, don't expect me to go easy on you or hand you any favors. You are a regular student just as all the students in my Pokéology class. I will expect you to study hard, take notes, and attend as many classes as you can if not all."

Ash sighed. A former criminal was in position of power over him, and thus, controlled his future…This was all a little too much for Ash to take on in one day.

Just then, a commotion could be heard in the foyer. A woman's voice faintly could be heard screaming.

"Hm? I wonder what that's all about." James questioned as he made his way to the main room. Ash and May followed behind him.

"I'm sorry, Madame, but the Master is very busy right now. You can't see him."

"I have every right to see my dear husband."

When James made it to the foyer, he could hardly believe his eyes.

A woman was trying to force herself through the doorway of his mansion.

And not just any woman…

This woman had red hair, jade green eyes, and was wearing a glorious violet dress. A green necklace hung from her neck and her hair was done up in two fancy spirals on either side of her face.

James was appalled. When was his past going stopping haunting him?

Jessie growled. "He's not your husband, nympho! He's mine!"

"Aroo!" Growlie barked.

The old man couldn't hold the door anymore. It swung opened as the woman entered the mansion, fanning herself.

Sebastian fell to the floor.

"Methuselah!" James cried.

"I'm…I'm all right, Master James," he grunted as he struggled to get to his feet.

James ran to his side as he tried to help his old friend up.

"Old man, I've just about had it with you and your folly now," the woman said as she lowered her folding fan, revealing her face, "It was my understandin' that the Rossdales had fired your sorry behind. But it's just like Jamesy-poo to take in a commoner, what with his big heart and all."

"Dammit, Jessiebelle!" James exclaimed, "When are you going to leave me alone!"

"Arroo!"

"Au contraire, Honey. I'm here to stay." The woman replied with a malicious smile.

May shook Ash on his shoulder. "Ash, that's Jessiebelle? She looks just like Jessie!"

"What else is new?" Ash said flatly. This was really getting old. And he really wasn't in the mood for anymore foolishness. He had _way_ too much work to do…And it was already late! He had classes in the morning for crying out loud!

"Your parents wanted me to educate you in your duties as a gentleman of property. My only wish is to be your lovely wife and devoted companion."

"Well you can't have him, Sister!" Jessie bellowed, "James is mine so back off and get on with your pathetic life!"

Jessiebelle narrowed her eyes at Jessie.

"You artless, woman, you. James dearest, it is still so difficult for me to understand how you could tolerate such disgraceful trash."

It took all of James' strength to restrain his wife and keep her from clobbering his hardheaded _'fiancée'_.

"How dare you disrespect me in my own home!"

"Nary so, darlin'. This fine estate belongs to James dearest and myself. You have no say in the matter."

"Sebastian! Get this tramp out of my mansion before I introduce her nose to her right ear!"

Jessiebelle's eyes narrowed even more.

"Now I know this asinine woman did not just call me a tramp."

"If it walks like Psyduck, and quacks like a Psyduck…" Jessie growled.

Jessiebelle lowered her fan. "Oh, honey. The only quack aroun' here is you."

Jessie's nails dug into James' skin as she tried to claw her way to her deranged doppelganger. But James would have none of it. He endured the pain from Jessie's manicured nails and her excess weight as he tried to make sense of the situation.

"Jessiebelle, this is madness! Not to mention extremely unhealthy! You're downright obsessed with that memory from our childhood."

Jessiebelle's eyes seemed to soften as she turned her attention to James.

"I've spent years tracking you down, James deary. You will be mine."

"No, Jessiebelle. This has to end. If you don't leave me and my family alone, I'll have no choice but to file a restraining order against you."

"Oh Jamesy-poo, whateva to you mean?" Jessiebelle said, again with that malicious smile of hers, "We are family. Once we rid you of this horrid woman, we can start having young ones of our own."

"That's not going to happen, Jessiebelle. I love Jessie and I'm already married to her. So it is impossible for us to be anything. We can't get married."

"Oh, James dear, of course we can. I know how you're parents disowned you, deary. And they only did that 'cause you were uncompromising and persisted on staying with this impecunious woman."

James winced as Jessie's nails dug further into his skin.

"But that all can be fixed," Jessiebelle continued, "Why, once we get married, your parents will repudiate you no more and you will once again be their cherished son. After all, they do view me as the perfect-daughter-in-law."

"Jessiebelle, I'm not leaving my wife!"

"James dear, of course you're not leaving me."

"Stop it!" James shouted, "This charade has got to end, Jessiebelle."

"Oh, Jamesy-poo. Enough of this silliness. We have a wedding to complete. I've already made the arrangements."

Jessie snarled. "You are the most stuck-up, elitist woman I have ever met!"

"And you are the most vain woman I have ever met," Jessiebelle retaliated.

"With your dominatrix personality…You profess your affection for James but that is just a front. Admit it! You're just after his money!"

Jessiebelle bowed her head.

"How dare you accuse me of such a disingenuous thang? In case there's nothing but hot air in that bristling gross magenta hair of yours, let me remind you that I don't need James' billions. I have plenty of my own. I love James and I very much want to be with him."

She opened her eyes and focused on James.

"James dear, enough of these games. We have much work ahead of us. You have plenty to learn about being a gentleman."

"I am a gentleman…Jessiebelle, your presence here is distasteful. This is extremely uncouth of you."

"See sugarplum, that's exactly what I'm talking about. A lady cannot be uncouth."

"That steel-magnolia accent of yours only makes me want to knock you out that much more!" Jessie screamed.

Ash signed.

"May, not that this isn't entertaining, but we really need to get back to the house. I'm swamped with work. And this has all been a little too much for me to digest in one day alone."

"Ash, I couldn't agree more," May replied, having been uncomfortable her entire stay.

With all the commotion, Ash and May were easily able to slip out the front door.

"Stop following me around and trying to change me! Nothing I ever did was refined enough for you before, and it never will be! Stop meddling in my life!"

"I'll follow you to the bottom of the earth, to the end of the sea, James dearest!"

May continued to look back at the mansion as Ash drove onto the road.

"I have so many questions, Ash."

"Another time, May…Another time…"

* * *

Wally's eyes were heavy as he weakly entered his bedroom. He flopped on the bed, not even caring that the impact of his weak body and his hard bed caused an immense pain to shoot up his entire body.

"It's hopeless, Gardevoir. Completely hopeless."

The Embrace Pokémon looked at her master sorrowfully as she stood in the doorway of the room.

It had been another terrible day at the hospital.

_Earlier that day_

_Dr. Kulushki looked dolefully at the results of his patient's EKG and blood tests._

"_Ok, Doc. Give it to me straight," Wally asked as he lay in the hospital bed._

_Dr. Kulushki adjusted his glasses as he put his chart down._

"_Mr. Woodley, how long have you been receiving treatment for your ailment?"_

"_Thirteen years. Since I was the age of six. Why?"_

_Dr. Kulushki tried to word his answer as carefully as he could._

"_I'm afraid you were misdiagnosed, Mr. Woodley. Your EKG is normal. There is nothing wrong with your heart."_

"_But I was being tried for __barrett esophagus and acid reflux disease? I was told it was a chronic problem?"_

"_Though you do have some symptoms related to GERD, your labs indicate that is merely coincidental to your asthma. It is not why you are in your current condition."_

"_Then what is it?"_

_Dr. Kulushki sighed._

"_Mr. Woodley…I believe you were misdiagnosed in the past and as a result, were not treated appropriately or effectively…I do not know how to tell you this…so I'll just come right out with it…You've got Adult T-Cell Leukemia…"_

_Wally's heart skipped a beat. "Wha…What?"_

"_It is a rare cancer of…"_

"_How is that possible?"_

_Dr. Kulushki took off his glasses._

"_Well…as I said this is a very rare cancer of the immune system's own T-cells…It is believed to be caused by __the human T-cell lymphotropic virus, in addition to other diseases."_

_Wally shook his head. "I don't understand."_

"_Adult T-Cell Lymphoma__ is usually a highly aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, meaning it develops and multiplies at an incredibly fast rate, with no characteristic histological appearance except for a diffuse pattern and a mature T-cell phenotype. Circulating lymphocytes with an irregular nuclear contour, or leukemic cells, are frequently seen. The cancer is frequently accompanied by visceral involvement, hypercalcemia, lytic bone lesions, and skin lesions, all of which you have."_

"_In English, Doc. I only understood the last sentence."_

_Again, he sighed._

"_It is an extremely aggressive cancer that currently has no known cure, Mr. Woodley." He purposely left out the part about most patients dying within one year of diagnosis._

_Wally felt anxious. "How did you come to this conclusion?"_

"_From your blood work. You have a very __abnormal amount of white blood cells in your body.__ Your __lumbar puncture…"_

"_Lumbar puncture?"_

"_Spinal tap…It also showed that you have cancer cells in your spine…Your MRI shows that you have those same malignant cells in your brain."_

_Wally still couldn't believe it._

"_So there's nothing you can do? I'm a goner?" _

"_There are still various treatment options we can explore. We can put you on zidovudine and start chemotherapy immediately."_

_Wally put his hand to his forehead. _

"_How could I have gotten this?"_

"_Because this is a rare cancer, not much is known about it. Its cause is one of those unknowns."_

"_So in other words, you're casting around in the dark to see what works? You're experimenting?"_

_Dr. Kulushki didn't respond._

_Wally pinched his sinuses. "How soon do I have to start treatment?"_

"_Immediately."_

"_And if I don't?"_

_Dr. Kulushki scratched his nose._

"_Then you only have a few more weeks."_

_Wally let out a nervous laugh. He quickly shook his head._

_Dr. Kulushki put his glasses back on. "Mr. Woodley, Adult T-Cell Leukemia is serious illness. The best thing for you to do is to go through with the treatment and then have a bone marrow transplant when there are zero cancer cells in your body."_

_Wally continued to shake his head. _

"_Thirteen years…Thirteen years of being wrongly treated for a disease I didn't even have."_

"_Mr. Woodley, if you had had the cancer in your childhood, you would not have made it to the age seven."_

_Wally snapped his head back._

"_So, what are you saying? That I'm suffering from another unknown ailment that I've had since my childhood?"_

"_I can only go by what the tests say…"_

"_Well your tests are bullshit!" Wally said, getting off of the examination table._

"_Mr. Woodley, have you gotten a second opinion about this illness you said you've been struggling with for years?"_

"_Yes! And a third opinion, and a fourth opinion, and a fifth opinion…I got several different diagnoses from fifteen different specialists. The most accurate thing I've ever heard was the __barrett esophagus __and now you're telling me that that was incorrect as well?"_

_He snatched his coat off the chair and put it on._

"_Mr. Woodley, I don't know what illness you suffered from as a child but I do know that you have Adult T-Cell Leukemia. It is imperative that you start treatment right away."_

"_Thanks, but no thanks, Doc. I'll take my chances with this cancer. I've been given the death sentence many times before."_

_Dr. Kulushki urged on. "As a medical professional I have an obligation to let you know of the danger you are getting yourself into. I advise you, Mr. Woodley, please, do the treatment."_

_But Wally wouldn't hear it. He stormed out of Mauville City Hospital and made a bee-line for home._

Seeing her trainer in this state brought it all back. All his life Wally had to struggle. His mother died soon after giving birth to him, and his father never entered the picture, so he had lived with his aunt and uncle since the day he was born. But there was always a feeling of rejection. In his heart, Wally believed his uncle blamed him for the death of his sister. He loved his uncle greatly, but there were days when the older man looked at him with complete hatred. The only one in his family to have showed him compassion was his cousin Wanda, who had opened up her house to him while he was on his journey. But after she and her boyfriend married, Wally was once again alone.

Then there was this unknown illness that has plagued him for so long. Wally had been told he was going to die since the age of eight, which was probably why his uncle didn't support him starting a journey; most likely seeing it as a lost cause and a waste of money. For thirteen years he sought treatment for this illness and no one seemed to have the answer. The only correct diagnosis he's ever gotten was his asthma, which he was diagnosed with at five and had to wear a respirator suit on all his journeys. So Gardevoir could understand the anger that filled her human.

Wally pounded his fists into the bed.

"It just isn't fair! What the hell have I done to deserve all this? Is this some sort of sick joke, God? Well I ain't laughin'!"

Gardevoir cringed. Wally must have been really upset to curse the Lord and commit blasphemy like that.

Then…he started wailing.

It hurt Gardevoir so to see her human suffer like this. She gingerly walked into the room and sat on the bed beside him. She put her hands in front of her body and a light pink ball of energy appeared in between them. Gardevoir then opened her arms wider and the orb broke apart into multiple light pink sparkles, releasing waves of light pink energy with light pink sparkles. She expanded outward towards Wally to relax him.

After many minutes of crying and cursing, Wally calmed down. He pushed himself up off the bed to sit up, revealing his wet face.

Using her psychic power, Gardevoir levitated the tissue box that was on the dresser and a towel that was in the adjoined bathroom and brought them over to her human.

"Thank you," he said as he took the towel and box. He wiped his face and blew his nose. When he was finished, Gardevoir used her powers again to put the tissue box back on the dresser, the towel back in the bathroom and the used tissues in the waste basket.

Wally sighed as he looked at the pattern on his comforter.

"Gardevoir?"

Wally looked at the pokémon he started his journey with. He smiled softly and took her hands.

"Gardevoir…you are the only right thing in my life. I honestly think that if I didn't start my journey with you, I probably would've died just like those doctors said. I firmly believe that it was my pokémon that gave me the strength and will to continue living. I just need to take solace in the fact that I have you in my life."

Gardevoir smiled.

Wally's smile widened. "I'm still kicking, Gardevoir. And I'll keep on doing it as long as you're by my side. I love you, Gardevoir."

"Gardevoir."

The next few moments were spent in silence, with trainer and pokémon just indulging in the warmth of the atmosphere in the room.

It wasn't long before the soothing atmosphere put Wally to sleep.

Noticing his slumbering, Gardevoir got up off the bed. She kissed him gently on his forehead just as a mother would. She then walked over to the chair beside the bed.

She again began using her Heal Pulse and a soothing aura began emanating from her hands. It wasn't long before she herself fell asleep as well.

* * *

**A/N: **There you go! I hope you enjoyed it!

Wally's diagnosis of Adult T-Cell Leukemia actually rings close to home for me. My father was diagnosed with this cancer in June of last year and he is still being treated for it. I humbly ask if you could to keep him in your prayers as he continues to explore treatment options.

Anyway, I hope this chapter lived up to your expectations.

Thank you so much for your time and reading! God Bless!

And please don't forget to review!


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